BusinessDay 26 Feb 2018

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Diamond Bank reduces losses as oil rally aids bad loan recoveries ...Page 4 

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I **MONDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2018 I VOL. 14, NO 553 I N300 @ g 

NASD moves 

to connect PE 

investors with 

growth enterprises 

IHEANYI NWACHUKWU 

NASD Over-The- 

Counter (OTC) Securities 

Exchange is 

making a bold move 

to connect Private Equity (PE) 

investors to growth-oriented 

enterprises in Nigeria. 

NASD Plc, which is the promoter 

of a Trading Network 

that eases secondary market 

trading of all securities of unquoted 

public companies, has 

just developed an Enterprise 

Continues on page 46 

2019: NASS raises 

Presidential campaign 

expenses by 400% to N5bn 

....Lawmakers insist amendment in 

tune with modern realities 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja 

In the new Electoral Act 

(Amendment) Bill recently 

passed by both the Senate 

and House of Representatives, 

the National Assembly jerked up 

the maximum election expenses 

to be incurred by a presidential 

candidate to N5 billion from 

N1 billion, indicating some 400 

percent increase. 

Lawmakers also increased 


Finally, FG confirms 

110 Dapchi schoolgirls 

missing 

P. A6 

L-R: Olaleye Adebiyi, managing partner, Andersen Tax Nigeria; Okechukwu Enelemah, minister for trade, investment and industry; Babatunde Fowler, 

chairman, FIRS; Dick Kramer, chairman, African Capital Alliance/former managing partner, Arthur Andersen Nigeria, and Emeka Onwuka, partner, 

Client and family Wealth, at official launch of Andersen Tax in Nigeria, held in Lagos, at the weekend. 

Pic by Pius Okeosisi 

Banks’ $1.3bn Eurobonds 

set to mature in 2 years 

Refinance risk seen with rising global interest rates 

BALA AUGIE 

Nigerian banks have 

some $1.3 billion 

out of a total 

of $3.72 billion in 

outstanding Euro 

bonds due in the next two years 

and a rising global interest rate 

environment expected for the 

period may lead to higher refinancing 

costs. 

Analysts are of the view that 

tighter monetary policy in the 

United States could potentially 

raise borrowing costs for banks 

that plan to tap the international 

bond markets in the future. 

But they add that the direction 

of oil price, external reserve 

and broad macroeconomic 

environment are also important 

determinants on pricing. 

The U.S 10-year Treasury 

yield slipped to 2.87 percent 

on Friday, roughly where it 

started the week as investors 

dissect the Fed’s semi-annual 

monetary policy report to 

Congress. 

Wale Okunrinboye, a fixed 

income and FX analyst at Ecobank 

says since benchmark U.S 

Treasury’s are trending up and 

there is the possibility of a rate 

hike, Nigerian banks may have 

to pay a higher risk premium 

to refinance maturing bonds 

because the market is becoming 

Continues on page 4

2 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Monday 26 February 2018

Monday 26 February 2018 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 3


C002D5556 

Monday 26 February 2018 

NEWS 

Netherlands pledges support for 

Nigeria’s agricultural growth 

... Quality of Nigerian food produce falls short of international standards – Dutch experts 

CALEB OJEWALE 

The Dutch government is 

committing to providing 

support for Nigeria’s 

agricultural development, 

aiming to facilitate 

the creation of new jobs to 

support the economy, and stimulate 

economic growth. The Dutch 

mission in Nigeria which says it 

wants to deepen bilateral relations 

with the country has identified agriculture 

as the best way to provide 

support, owing to the Dutch track 

record in high productivity, and 

being the world’s second largest 

exporter of food despite being one 

of the smallest countries by size at 

41,543 Km2. 

This commitment to find ways 

of helping Nigeria develop its 

agricultural potentials was demonstrated 

earlier this month when 

a Dutch delegation led by Robert 

Petri, Netherlands ambassador 

to Nigeria, in company of Michel 

Deleen, head of Netherlands 

Representation in Lagos, and 

Ilona Domanska, policy officer, 

West Africa Division, Netherlands 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited 

the Wageningen University and 

Research (WUR) for series of strategic 

meetings on ways Nigeria’s 

agricultural development can be 

supported. 

BusinessDay correspondent 

was in attendance at some of these 

meetings, where the Dutch delegation 

met with several experts 

who have had experience with 

agriculture in Nigeria, some for 

the past two decades, researching 

on different areas of the sector 

and developing programmes to 

support local growth. 

In an exclusive interview with 

Petri after the meetings in Wageningen, 

the Dutch Ambassador 

told BusinessDay his country 

“would like to intensify collaboration 

with Nigeria, particularly in 

the field of agriculture, and this 

is because agriculture (appears 

to be) a priority for the Nigerian 

government.” 

According to Petri, with high 

population growth, Nigeria will 

keep importing more food so 

local production has to go up, 

and “I think as a country, the 

Netherlands has something to 

offer Nigeria. We are capable of 

producing high yields in a small 

piece of land and we have a lot of 

expertise in practising agriculture 

in a sustainable way. We are also 

the second largest exporter of food 

in the world. 

“We are a small country (in 

landmass) but in the area of agriculture, 

we certainly have something 

to offer Nigeria,” said Petri 

The Dutch Ambassador also 

noted that “Nigeria is a very big 

Banks’ $1.3bn Eurobonds set to mature in... 

Continued from page 1 

more risk conscious. 

“GTBank has offered to redeem 

its loans while Fidelity 

Bank has already rolled over 

theirs last year. Diamond Bank 

may look to refinance theirs,” 

Okunrinboye said. 

“For Tier one lenders that are 

going to refinance, they will have 

to pay close to 9 percent while 

Tier 2 lenders will have to pay 

close to 10 percent given the rate 

at which they issued few years 

ago,” said Okunrubonye. 

Fidelity Bank a tier – two bank 

rated B- by S&P Global Ratings 

and Fitch Ratings, or six steps 

into junk territory, issued $400 

million of five-year securities 

with a 10.75 percent yield in 

October 2017. 

Proceeds from the new Eurobond 

were partly used to 

repurchase $256 million of the 

bank’s $300mn Eurobond due 

in May 2018 (coupon 6.875%), 

implying new cash of $144mn 

and outstanding value of $44.50 

million. 

“Fidelity was a beneficiary of 

the high interest rate environment 

that prevailed in FY17; 

however, we believe its Net Interest 

Income in 4Q17 will be pulled 

lower by the interest expense 

on its recently issued $400mn 

Eurobond (maturing in October 

2022, coupon 10.5%). The new 

cash introduced from the bond 

raise will be used to drive trade 

financing activities, according 

to management,” Renaissance 

Capital analysts led by Olamipo 

Ogunsanya said in a Feb 5 report 

on the sector. 

Guaranty Trust Bank (GT- 

Bank), the largest lender by market 

value, has $276.93 million in 

outstanding Eurobonds due November 

8 2018 and Zenith Bank 

has $500 million in Eurobonds 

due April 22 2019. 

Diamond Bank has $200 million 

in 5 year unsubordinated 

unsecured Eurobonds maturing 

on May 21 2019 and First Bank of 

Nigeria Plc has $300 million in 

Eurobonds, maturing on August 

7 2020. 

“I think the need for dollar 

liquidity has reduced considerably 

compared to the last 2 years, 

due to improved FX availability 

in the domestic market. So banks 

are not necessarily under pressure 

to re-issue these bonds as 

they mature,” said Kayode Tinuoye 

Portfolio Manager/Head 

of Research at United Capital 

Limited. 

“The outlook appears positive 

at the moment, and should 

ease any pressure on pricing, 

especially as most of the banks 

have decent credit risk ratings,” 

summed Tinuoye. 

The Nigerian economy is 

recovering slowly from its worst 

slump in around 30 years, triggered 

by the 2014 collapse in 

crude prices. 

Ratings agencies also downgraded 

the Nigerian sovereign at 

the height of the oil shocks. 

However, a rebound in oil 

production on the back of relative 

peace in the Niger Delta 

region and the adoption of a 

flexible exchange rate policy 

that eased dollar shortages 

were responsible for the country 

existing a recession as GDP 

expanded by 0.55 percent and 

1.42 percent in the second and 

third quarter of 2017, accord- 

country and very important for 

not only West Africa but is an economic 

engine for the rest of Africa. 

If it goes well in Nigeria, it will go 

well in the rest of Africa and this 

will be to the benefit of Europe. 

“Employment will be my primary 

focus and that of the Netherlands, 

because we know that there 

are many job seekers that come to 

the market every year in search of 

employment, and now the oil sector 

and the oil age is slowly coming 

to an end. 

“As long as job seekers remain 

unable to secure employment, 

this will invariably lead to unrests 

and chaos which we do not want,” 

Petri said. 

The prospects of attracting 

more investors to Nigeria, is according 

to Petri, somewhat limited 

owing to the country’s less known 

potentials. 

“We have to explain very well, 

how beautiful your country is, 

what the potential of the country 

is, because there isn’t very much 

that is known, frankly speaking,” 

noted Petri, adding that “but you 

can start with big awareness campaigns, 

and it sometimes works 

better to focus on one sector; in 

this case agriculture, so people 

can see that it can work, and that 

will help companies in other sectors 

to also come in and make 

their decisions (whether or not to 

Diamond Bank 

reduces losses as 

oil rally aids bad 

loan recoveries 

LOLADE AKINMURELE & MICHEAL ANI 

The rebound in global oil 

prices and local production 

is helping Diamond 

bank, Nigeria’s sixth largest 

commercial bank; recover nonperforming 

loans (NPLs) that 

swelled in the thick of low oil 

prices in 2016 and militant attacks 

that cut oil production by 

a third. 

“In the past few months, we 

have had cash flows from at 

least three clients that had been 

docile since 2016 when the 

slump in oil prices and damages 

inflicted on the Forcados terminal 

constrained chances of loan 

servicing,” Caroline Anyanwu, 

the bank’s deputy managing 

director and chief risk officer 

told BusinessDay during an interview 

at its Lagos headquarters 

on Friday. 

She declined to name the oil 

companies in question. 

Thanks to the upswing in 

global prices and local production 

in Nigeria, oil exploration 

companies have now gone back 

to work and owners of rigs and 

vessels are getting new jobs, according 

to Anyanwu. 

That has breathed life into 

the bank’s NPLs which had a 36 


L-R: Oluwatoyin Ashiru, director, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group plc; Ibikunle Amosun, governor, 

Ogun State, and Adam Nuru, managing director, FCMB, during a courtesy visit by the management of the 

bank to the governor in his office at Abeokuta, Ogun State. 

stay in Nigeria).” 

“The country is known but not 

the investments opportunities,” 

said Petri, “I think it has to be explained 

better, and that will help in 

showing good examples. It is also 

important for companies coming 

into Nigeria to prepare to be in it 

for the long haul.” 

Other experts who attended 

the sessions with the Dutch delegation, 

mentioned several areas 

Nigeria needs to improve so as to 

record increased productivity, and 

also on quality of food, not only 

in targeting exports but to ensure 

Nigerians are not being ‘slowly 

poisoned’. 

Louise Fresco, president, Executive 

Board of Wageningen 

University & Research, noted 

that if Nigeria hopes to one day 

become an agricultural exporting 

country, there has to be a monitoring 

system in place. 

“Nigeria like other African 

countries needs to build up the 

expertise to effectively monitor 

quality and standards in food 

production,” said Fresco, also 

explaining that if this is not part of 

a national strategy, risk becomes 

imminent with changes in people 

or institutions, and building that 

national capacity is very essential. 

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com 

ing to the National Bureau of 

Statistics (NBS). 

Nigeria’s external reserves have 

hit a 4 year high of $42.50 billion, 

according to recent data from the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). 

Benchmark sovereign bond 

yields have fallen to 13.10 percent 

as at February 2018 from 

17.10 percent high of 2015 as the 

economy continues to improve. 

Ayodeji Ebo, managing director 

and CEO of Afrinvest Securities 

Limited says based on the 

expected rate hike by the U.S 

Federal Reserve, they expect that 

any re-issuance by banks will be 

more expensive. 

“So banks will now have to 

decide whether to pay off the 

loans as at maturity or if they 

have the dollar lending opportunity, 

they may decide to reissue 

new ones at the prevailing 

rates,” said Ebo. 

Since the dollar is a global 

reserve currency, changes in 

its valuation can have a tremendous 

impact on everything 

from foreign reserves at global 

central banks to corporate balance 

sheets containing dollardenominated 

debt. 

“GTBank says it will only 

redeem and they may not issue 

new ones. But Diamond Bank is 

bit of a worry. Recently, they issued 

a $200 million Eurobond,” 

said Okunrubonye.


6 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 

NEWS 

Need for maritime bank re-echoes 

at NIMASA, stakeholders confab 

… stakeholders worry if insurers can guarantee change from FoB to CIF 

IGNATIUS CHUKWU 

The need to set up 

a bank dedicated 

to the maritime 

economy where 

ship owners and 

other investors can borrow 

at cheap rates re-echoed in 

Warri, Delta State, when the 

Nigerian Maritime Administration 

and Safety Agency 

(NIMASA) hosted a day 

stakeholders’ conference to 

gather ideas to move the industry 

forward. 

This is as the ability of the 

insurance industry in Nigeria 

to cope with the mooted 

idea of transferring the sale 

of crude oil in Nigeria from 

Free on Board (FoB) basis to 

Cost Insurance and Freight 

(CIF) basis. 

The urgent need for a 

maritime bank has also 

found its way into the communiqué 

at the end of the 

conference. The conference 

at the instance of NIMASA 

with the Federal Ministry 

of Transportation focused 

on the executive order one 

signed by President Muhammadu 

Buhari on ‘Ease 

of Doing Business’ and local 

content push. 

The fresh call for a marine 

bank was led by the 

chairman, Ship Owners 

Forum, Margaret Onyema 

– Orakwusi, who spoke on: 

“Ease of doing business in a 

secured maritime environment”. 

Recommending such a 

bank to boost funding and 

help Nigerians compete in 

the maritime sector, she 

suggested a rate not more 

than three per cent, saying 

the commercial rates prevailing 

in the country would 

never allow huge capital 

input into the sector. She 

said this would continue to 

put the maritime economy 

in the hands of foreigners. 

The chairman further urged 

the Federal Government to 

improve security in the nation’s 

territorial water to restore 

investors’ confidence 

in the sector. 

She however wondered 

if the insurance sub-sector 

was ready for the push to 

move from FoB to CIF would 

be a success. Maritime experts 

began the fresh push 

to sell CIF in 2017 led by 

Chinedu Jideofo-Ogbuagu, 

one-time consultant to the 

United Nations Committee 

on Trade (UNCTAD, now 

the president of the Marine 

Club of Nigeria. Ogbuagu 

had argued thus; “The cargo, 

meaning the crude oil 

and the refined product, 

which are carried in vessels, 

must be sold CIF (Cost 

Insurance and Freight). By 

this, the person selling will 

now be able to nominate 

which vessel will carry either 

the crude or the refined 

product. As long as they are 

patriotic, why would they 

not nominate Nigerian vessels? 

But when you sell FoB 

(Free on Board), you lose 60 

per cent of the extra profit 

in the shipping or insurance 

that is involved.” 

The resolutions at the 

end of the conference at 

the KFT Centre in Warri 

also called on the Ministry 

and its Agencies to promote 

the automation of all shipping 

related administrative 

processes to reduce human 

subjectivity and corruption; 

to consider reviving NIMA- 

REX as a platform for bridging 

the gap between the 

Nigerian shipping industry 

and prospective international 

investors so as to 

provide impetus for growth 

and investment; and to also 

liaise with relevant Ministries 

and Agencies in Trade 

and investment sector with 

a view to reducing the tax 

burden and other ancillary 

costs borne by the indigenous 

shipping investor”. 

The report urged NI- 

MASA to take careful stock 

of available indigenous 

tonnage and their current 

state of health so as to be 

empirically guided in the 

determination of the lingering 

Cabotage waiver issues; 

and urged the Ministry to 

consider inviting the Finance 

and Trade Ministries 

alongside the Customs Service 

to subsequent Stakeholders 

Forum with a view 

to benefiting from their input 

on key issues”. 

Bayelsa gears up for 2018 

Africa SMEs Roundtable 

SAMUEL ESE, Yenagoa 

Bayelsa State government 

has concluded 

arrangements to 

host the 2018 Africa 

SMEs Roundtable with the 

theme: The Position of Africa 

SMEs Within the Global 

Economy: Unlocking Market 

Opportunities. 

BusinessDay gathers that 

already 15 African countries 

have registered for the March 

1 to 3 event, while 20 African 

development institutions, 10 

global SME funding support 

institutions and many others 

have also indicated readiness 

to attend. 

The event is expected to 

provide a platform for business-to-business 

and government-to-business 

opportunities, 

promote bilateral 

trade and boost inter African 

trade as part of an African 

sister cities business fair/exposition. 

Director-general of 

Bayelsa Microfinance 

and Enterprise Development 

Agency (BYMEDA), 

Ebiekure Eradiri, described 

the roundtable as “apt in 

view of the global economic 

realities of recession and 

crude oil negative downward 

slide.” 

Eradiri called on African 

trade and finance ministers, 

government agencies, entrepreneurs, 

banks and the 

African Union among others 

to participate, as the roundtable 

will afford opportunities 

to examine “policies, 

strategies, best practices, 

solutions and programmes 

to upgrade African SMEs 

and launch them into new 

growth trajectories.” 

He said the programme 

would spotlight evolution 

of Africa SMEs marketplace, 

increase foreign direct investment 

and promote accelerated 

development of 

SMEs in the continent. 

According to Eradiri, the 

roundtable would also take 

stock of the implementation 

of the Consolidated Plan of 

Action, which would take 

into account emerging areas 

and contributions of Africa 

to the attainment of the 

Millennium Development 

Goals (MDGs). 

On the expected impact 

of the programme, Eradiri 

explained that the recommendations 

are expected 

to fit into the implementation 

plan path for the new 

umbrella group for SMEs 

advocacy, All Africa Association 

of Small and Medium 

Enterprises. The three-day 

programme would feature 

exhibitions in two major sectors 

and encourage exchange 

of business information, 

brands promotion and build 

prospect data and generate 

sales leads among others. 

Eradiri said expected 

results include synthesis of 

best practices, benchmarking 

tool for entrepreneurs, 

guidelines for mainstreaming 

SMEs into national development, 

incubation of 

newly identified entrepreneurs 

and procurement of 

loans and monitoring. 


25,000 to benefit from 

2018 Lagos ready-setwork 

training pack 

JOSHUA BASSEY 

Lagos State government 

has launched 

the third edition 

of its Ready-Set- 

Work (RSW) training programme 

targeting to train 

over 25,000 students of 

various tertiary institutions 

in the state. 

The RSW is an initiative 

of the state government 

that brings students 

of tertiary institutions in 

Lagos, especially those in 

the final year, together for 

a training programme that 

builds their confidence 

and prepares their minds 

towards the world of work 

and self-reliance upon 

graduation from school. 

The special adviser to 

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode 

on education, Obafela 

Bank-Olemoh, who spoke 

at the launch of the 2018 

edition of the programme, 

on Thursday, said the training 

would last for 13 weeks, 

adding that since the takeoff 

in 2016, thousands had 

benefitted from it. 

“What we are doing 

here is the official launch 

of The Ready-Set-Work 

faculty. We are building 

the largest volunteer faculty 

in Nigeria. Since the inception 

of the programme, 

we have engaged volunteers, 

who are professionals 

from various sectors of 

the economy to train and 

mentor the students in 

the 13-week training programme.



C002D5556 



C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

9 

NEWS 

Niger Delta to blame for death of eastern ports 

IGNATIUS CHUKWU 

Minister of 

T r a n s - 

portation, 

Chibuike 

R o t i m i 

Amaechi, former of Rivers 

State, has asked the Niger 

Delta people to blame themselves, 

not anybody from 

Lagos or westerners, for the 

steady decline of ports in the 

east. He spoke in tense voice, 

saying the truth must be told. 

Amaechi spoke while in 

Warri, Delta State, at a day 

stakeholders’ conference organised 

by Nigerian Maritime 

Administration and Safety 

Agency (NIMASA) in conjunction 

with his ministry to 

harvest ideas and issues in the 

maritime economy. 

The minister said the accusation 

had been that west- 

TUC wants state 

of emergency 

in power sector 

JOSHUA BASSEY 

Saddened by the deteriorating 

power supply 

in Nigeria and 

resultant economic 

losses, the Trade Union 

Congress of Nigeria (TUC) 

has asked the Federal Government 

to declare a state 

of emergency in the power 

sector. 

The union, which rose 

from its National Executive 

Council (NEC) meeting in 

Lagos, wekend, said this had 

become absolutely necessary, 

“as no nation can develop 

without power.” 

The TUC also urged the 

Federal Government to be 

decisive in its bid to rebuild 

the confidence of the citizenry 

in the system, by arresting 

and prosecuting killers 

of innocent Nigerians, 

masquerading as herdsmen 

and militia in different parts 

of the country. The union in 

a communiqué issued after 

the meeting, expressed 

concern about the ceaseless 

killing by the Boko Haram 

sect, noting that it was time 

the insurgents were made to 

face the law. 

On the volatility of the 

political system, ahead of 

the 2019 general elections, 

the TUC in the communiqué 

signed by Bobboi Kaigama, 

president and Musa Lawal, 

secretary general, called 

on politicians and their followers 

to act in a manner 

that would guarantee peace 

within the polity. 

“Politicians should avoid 

hate speeches so that both 

the common man and workers 

can attain fulfilment. 

The NEC also called on governors 

owing workers to pay 

such monies and warned 

converting public funds and 

workers’ salaries for election 

purposes. 

The union also blamed 

the recurring fuel crisis on 

the Nigerian National Petroleum 

Corporation (NNPC) 

as the sole provider of fuel 

for the country and called on 

the government to, however, 

reimburse the corporation 

and marketers of money 

spent on subsidy. 

… ‘blame yourself, not Lagos’ 

ern Nigeria did not want eastern 

ports to survive and thus 

waxed all manner of policies 

to achieve the plot, saying he 

too believed it. How however 

said the moment he took over 

as minister, he went into the 

issue and found that the issue 

was not true at all. 

Returning the blame to 

his people, Amaechi said the 

youths had taken to piracy 

and theft, turning the waters 

to the region unsafe. He said it 

was wrong for someone in the 

conference to call for military 

escort for ships sailing to the 

South South. 

Amaechi referred the 

stakeholders to the war insurance 

system, which made 

cost of taking goods to the 

Niger Delta water double the 

cost of Lagos. “I once called 

Peter Obi, former governor of 

Anambra State, to educate me 

on why importers in Onitsha 

and Aba shun Port Harcourt 

ports. He said they preferred 

paying to transport containers 

for eight hours from Lagos 

and pay bribe on the way to 

Onitsha and Aba than import 

through Port Harcourt that is 

mere 30 minutes drive. 

“He said it was still far 

cheaper to import from Lagos 

because of insecurity and 

the war insurance charged 

by international shippers to 

venture into risky waters,” the 

minister said. 

The minister urged the 

Niger Delta people to look 

at issues objectively instead 

of looking for who to blame 

always. “They say I am not a 

good politician. I could come 

here and speak good English 

and promise how we are going 

to make eastern ports to 

overtake Lagos, and you will 

clap, but it will be untrue. Instead, 

we must stop looking 

at outsiders, call ourselves 

in hall and tell ourselves the 

truth. That is where to start,” 

he said. 

He went on: “We are not 

the hungriest people in Nigeria. 

We are not poorer than 

those in Lagos or north. We 

must admit that violence 

and piracy do not help any 

economy.” He told the ship 

owners to consider protests 

and petition to the President 

because, as he put it, some 

saboteurs were frustrating 

moves by the Federal Government 

to protect Nigerian 

waters through the $195 million 

(about N70.2bn) contract 

signed a year ago. The fund is 

meant to acquire three helicopters, 

three aircrafts, three 

big battle-ready ships, 12 vessels 

and 20 amphibious cars 

to combat the menace of piracy 

in the Gulf of Guinea. The 

contract had been approved 

to an Israeli security firm, but 

it has rather become a mirage. 

Amaechi alleged that 

some government officials, 

and “People making money 

from water” were sabotaging 

government’s effort in restoring 

peace on the nation’s 

troubled waters. 

He said: “For ship owners, 

you need to do a petition 

to the President, you need to 

behave like an activist. The 

President approved a contract 

of $195 million and there are 

people in the system sabotaging 

that contract. The contract 

is to restore security in the nation’s 

waters.” 

He threatened to disclose 

the names of those behind 

the sabotage if pushed to the 

wall. “I won’t say who they 

are until it gets out of control. 

We are still battling for the 

contract to take place, but if it 

gets out of hand, we will name 

them, including the security 

people. 

“These are people who 

make billions of dollars from 

the waters so they don’t want 

security on the waters, because 

if we secure the waters, 

all this rubbish will go. We 

need to ask ourselves what 

happened to an approval that 

was given about two years ago 

by the President,” he said.



C002D5556 

COMMENT 

BASHORUN J.K RANDLE 

Randle is Chairman/Chief 

ExecutiveJK Randle Professional 

Services Chartered Accountants 

As Ambassador (Dr.) Olatokunbo 

Awolowo-Dosunmu 

gracefully glides into the 

platinum age of 70 years, it 

is tempting to overlook the 

fact that she is a doughty survivor and 

formidable combatant. Even if the scars 

are not visible, she has survived the 

loss of two brothers Barrister Olusegun 

Awolowo (who graduated from University 

of Cambridge) in 1963 and Chief 

Oluwole Awolowo as well as a sister, Mrs. 

Ayodele Soyode (mother of Mrs. Dolapo 

Osinbajo - the wife of the Vice-President 

of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo 

SAN). All these in addition to the demise 

of both parents – the sage Chief Obafemi 

Awolowo in 1987 and his jewel Chief 

(Mrs.) H.I.D. Awolowo in 2015. 

Rather than indulge in suffocating 

self-pity, Olatokunbo has opted to be a 

nimble combatant in the battle to rescue 

others by caring for the underprivileged; 

the aged; the homeless and most especially 

those who would otherwise 

be denied access to medical facilities 

(through the aegis of Obafemi Awolowo 

Foundation/Dideolu Hospital). It is selfevident 

that it is her caring disposition 

that influenced her choice of a career in 

medicine which was interrupted by her 

sojourn into diplomacy as our beloved 

nation’s Ambassador at The Hague, in 

The Netherlands, from 2000 to 2003. 

I commend her warmly for her 

granite steadfastness and exceptional 

faithfulness which she has consistently 

demonstrated in sustaining the inimitable 

legacy of selfless public service 

and indomitable spirit of her illustrious 

parents. Having regard to her tenacity of 

purpose, fierce determination and steely 

persistence, she is surely already on the 

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Tribute to a survivor and combatant 

Indeed, she has restrained herself through reticence 

and circumspection from venturing into the vortex of 

controversy in the affairs of our nation. Not for her the 

temptation to throw her hat into the ring as a potential 

first female President or Vice-President of Nigeria 

gedness and force of personality. 

Meetings at Dr. Akerele’s residence 

would sometimes drag on till late at night. 

However, first thing the following morning, 

Awolowo would have distributed 

flawless minutes of the proceedings of the 

previous evening to the astonishment of 

other members. 

That in itself is a story for another day. 

It is sufficient to record that our celebrant’s 

father displayed uncommon leadership as 

well as sagacity combined with vision and 

discipline. The followership adored him. A 

special chapter would have to be devoted 

to how “Awo” charmed the post Victorianage 

elite of Lagos into rewarding him with 

unprecedented respect and deference. 

They adored “Awo” their former protégé 

who was now their charismatic leader with 

his signature fez “Awo” cap and round rim 

pebble glasses. 

In physical stature, both Dr. Nnamdi 

Azikiwe (Premier of the Eastern Region) 

and Sir Ahmadu Bello, (The Sardauna 

of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern 

Region) towered above Chief Obafemi 

Awolowo. However, in the political arena 

and strategic thinking he was more than 

their equal match. 

My late father Chief J.K. Randle was 

a friend of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as 

well as his rivals – Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe 

and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello. I am obliged 

to reveal the other side of “Awo” which is 

rarely ever mentioned – he had a terrific 

sense of humour, gaiety and great sense of 

fun which were only on display when he 

was amongst a very close circle of friends. 

It was there for all to see on the few occasions 

when he visited the Lagos Island 

Club or Lagos Race Club where my father 

was the Chairman of both premier clubs. 

Somewhere in the archives of the clubs 

are iconic photographs of Chief Obafemi 

Awolowo looking very relaxed, jovial 

and savouring the company of friends 

and foes alike. 

Regardless, the dominant trait and 

enduring legacy were his stern mien, 

seriousness of purpose and dedication 

to the pursuit of excellence as well as 

the upliftment of Nigeria. He made no 

excuses for being a thoroughbred Yoruba 

first and foremost but it did not preclude 

him from his duty to Nigeria and Africa. 

He was ever ready to work from the crack 

of dawn till late into the night. The free 

education policy which was launched 

in Western Nigeria in 1955 remains 

his most enduring legacy. Knowledge 

became the key to freedom and liberty 

for the many rather than the few – in the 

pursuit of his catchy slogan: “Life More 

Abundant.” 

He was never awed by intellectuals 

and scholars. On the contrary, he cultivated 

them. According to the World Bank 

report of 1963, under the leadership of 

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Western 

Region of Nigeria was destined to surpass 

Singapore; South Korea; Indonesia and 

Hong Kong in economic and human 

capital development. The prediction is 

yet to manifest into reality. 

Time and space will not permit us 

to dwell on the irony of history when 

the feud between Chief Awolowo and 

his deputy Chief S. L. Akintola erupted 

at Mapo Hall in Ibadan in 1962 and 

changed the course of history as well as 

the destiny of Nigeria. 

Thankfully, the children of Chief 

S. O. Adebo (Head of Service, Western 

Region) are here to confirm that Chief 

Awolowo was fortunate to enjoy the support 

and loyalty of dedicated and incorruptible 

civil servants. Elder Statesman 

Chief Folarin Coker, former civil servant 

in the Western Region and Lagos State, 

is still with us at the age of 95 years. He is 

ever ready to remind us that there was a 

moral dimension to Chief Awolowo’s 

superlative performance. Mrs. Apinke 

Coker was Awo’s personal secretary but 

when she accompanied him on his trip 

to London to negotiate Nigeria’s Independence, 

Chief Awolowo as Premier 

of the Western Region personally paid 

the fare of Chief Coker so that he could 

accompany his wife. 

The celebrant was a teenager then. 

Here she is, fifty-five years later – still 

charming, vibrant, radiant and determined 

to keep the flag flying at full mast. 

She was previously the Co-Chairman 

of African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, 

publishers of “The Tribune” group of 

newspapers. The mantle of leadership 

as the sole Chairman has fallen on her 

shoulders. At the time when the fortunes 

of the newspapers were dwindling it was 

the then Chairman, Chief (Mrs.) H.I.D 

Awolowo, the matriarch of the Awolowo 

dynasty who engaged the services of my 

firm, J.K. Randle Professional Services to 

provide consultancy services which we 

successfully executed. The company is 

evidently thriving and has been restored 

to the front rank of our nation’s media. 

At a time when the J.K. Randle family is 

under threat, assault, invasion and siege 

by the government (and its demolition 

squad which is on a rampage) we may 

have ignored the incisive observation of 

Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo which she shared 

with me – no matter the complexion 

of the government, you must replenish 

your wealth, your power and your 

prestige, otherwise you would be in 

peril. I remain eternally grateful to her 

well-grounded wisdom and profound 

knowledge. At close to 100 years old, she 

was still mentally alert and genuinely 

concerned about the future of Nigeria. 

As Olatokunbo steps into those 

mega-sized shoes of her parents, we have 

every reason to believe that she would 

rise up to the challenge. Happy birthday. 

Send reactions to: 

comment@businessdayonline.com 

EMMANUEL UNAEGBU 

Unaegbu, an Environmental Protection 

and Sustainable Energy Expert, works 

with CLIMATTERS and writes from Abuja. 

He Tweets @emmalysis 

Coal as a natural resource 

may havebeen the pillar 

upon which many countries 

generated wealthbut 

that was fifty years and not without 

consequences.Importantly, the use of 

coal for power was based on the level 

of knowledge at the time. As has been 

established beyond doubt, coal is the 

dirtiest of the fossil fuels. And it is not 

cheap as is usually described. The 

aftermath costs are often irreparable. 

The entire process from mining 

to coal cleaning, transportation to 

electricity generation and waste disposal, 

coal releases numerous toxic 

pollutants into the air, water and land. 

In a 2001 publication titled “cradle to 

the grave: the environmental impacts 

from coal” the author posited that coal 

causes cancer, damages the nervous 

and immune systems, and impedes 

reproduction and development. The 

Coal mines and a distorted future for host communities 

publication was based on evidence 

from coal mining sites and coal power 

plants in the United States. In essence, 

even with all the technical knowhow 

and efficient medical facilities coal 

processing portends ahealth threat. 

In fact, new conventional coal plants 

are described as “imprudent financial 

investments.” 

Few years after Nigeria’s renewed 

push for coal power development(a 

decision that takes Nigeria back to 

1906 when coal was first discovered 

in the country), it seems we are already 

witnessing the destructive and 

life threating impacts of coal mining 

inOkobo, Kogi state and Maiganga, 

Gombe state. 

According to Global Rights (a 

Nigerian NGO that advocates for 

sustainable justice), coal mining in 

these locations is by surface mining 

otherwise called opencast mining. 

This method of mining requires large 

expanse on land with the overlaying 

soil covering removed using explosives 

and heavy duty machinery. 

These sites form craters that scar the 

landscape irreparably, destroying entire 

ecosystem of plants and animals. 

Weathering and leaching of the host 

rock result in heavy metals dissolving 

into nearby water bodies making 

them highly toxic and acidic. 

It is more worrying considering 

that these mines are only a few years 

old. For example, the Okobo site is 6 

years old while in Maiganga, mining 

activities started in 2007.If current 

poor mining practices continue, these 

areas will be ruined beyond any use. 

Global Rights in the report titled 

“power at all cost: the opportunity cost” 

which was unveiled to the public on 

January 11, 2018 stated that in Maiganga, 

dust, smoke and fire are a normal. The 

inhalation of the hazardous coal dust 

and smoke from spontaneous combustion 

of coal in the mining site disrupts 

ambient air quality, causing respiratory 

diseases. This is exacerbated by the proximity 

of the community to the mine site. 

The community people say they 

have witnessed increased number of 

miscarriages in both humans and domestic 

animals since mining operations 

began. Thus to avoid being victims, 

pregnant women leave the community 

for some distant community until they 

put to bed. Child development defects 

have also be recorded. In particular is a 

4 years old girl, Bibi Saidu who suffers 

partial paralysis. The doctors diagnosed 

that her health condition is as a direct 

effect of consuming nitrate polluted 

water which comes from the on-going 

mining activities in Maiganga. Now, she 

can only move and play with one side 

of her body. 

Other predominant health complaints 

are gastrointestinal disease 

like unexplainable stomach ache, 

typhoid and appendicitis; ocular irritation 

and; blood urine especially 

during dry season. 

Beyond the health challenges, the 

community has also had to endure violent 

suppression. In March 2014, follow- 

march to greatness in her own right in 

addition to her devotion to the sustenance 

and reinforcement of the legend 

and legacy of her father and mother. 

In this endeavour, she has the benefit 

of the support of her only surviving 

sibling – Rev. (Mrs.) Tola Oyediran. 

Tokunbo deserves kudos for the resilience 

she has demonstrated in coping 

with the travails of the Awolowo family 

together with the triumphs. She is 

manifestly endowed with robust shock 

absorbers. At a very tender age, she 

went through the trauma of witnessing 

her beloved father in the dock for 

“treasonable felony”. The tragedy was 

further compounded by the betrayal 

and treachery of former allies particularly 

the son of a long standing family 

friend (Dr. Ladipo Maja) who turned 

out to be the “prosecution witness”. 

In politics, she has played her cards 

close to her chest, ever ready to welcome 

whoever wants to pay homage to 

the late sage and supplicate the blessings 

of the Awolowo family. Indeed, she 

has restrained herself through reticence 

and circumspection from venturing 

into the vortex of controversy in the 

affairs of our nation. Not for her the 

temptation to throw her hat into the ring 

as a potential first female President or 

Vice-President of Nigeria. 

She is of course entitled to conclude 

that the family has already over-sacrificed 

and overinvested in the pursuit 

of a vision which has been thoroughly 

savaged, bastardised, frustrated and 

compromised. 

At the age of 70, she is welcome to 

reflect on how her father gravitated 

from being the humble, assiduous and 

committed secretary of “Egbe Omo 

Oduduwa” (a Yoruba Cultural Organisation) 

with its secretariat at 51, Messina 

Avenue, West Hampstead, London (the 

home of Dr. Oni Akerele who was the 

President) to becoming the leader of 

the same group which had transformed 

from being a cultural organisation into 

the Action Group, as a fully-fledged 

political party in Nigeria. He did it by a 

combination of zeal, dedication, doging 

their frustration, the community 

staged a peaceful protest to the company. 

In response, the company used 

mobile police men to disperse the 

people with teargas. Several members 

of the community were later arrested, 

detained for a whole week without 

charges and were released with strict 

warning never to repeat same. 

Unfortunately, the people of 

Maiganga consented to the establishment 

of the mine but did so from 

an uninformed position. While the 

ECOWAS mining directive to which 

Nigeria is a signatory clearly proscribes 

‘Free, Prior and Informed 

Consent’, it was not the case for the 

people of Maiganga. In fact, they were 

not involved in the environmental impact 

assessment process. Till this day, 

a community development agreement 

which is a requisite has not been 

signed. Instead they were verbally 

promised schools, water boreholes, 

hospitals and jobs. So, they danced 

at the opportunity. But 10 years on, it 

is pain, tears and sorrow. 

These many troubles for the community 

has led to mistrust of the 

mining company and a feeling of 

abandonment by the government at 

both the state and federal levels. 

It leaves the querying mind with 

questions. Why will the company 

(with international repute) act with 

such irresponsibility? But even if the 

company has decided to be irresponsible, 

don’t our officials have a duty? 

Is it that there are no standards? It 

is that they don’t understand their 

mandated function of ensuring that 

mining operations are conducted in 

a manner that protects the environment 

and host communities? 

One thing is clear though, the 

Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel 

Development saddled with this responsibility 

have to wake up. Enough of 

the slumber; lifestyle, livelihoods and 

living conditions are being disrupted 

on a daily basis from coal mining. 

It is recommended that: 

• Government should as a matter of 

priority reevaluate its position on coal 

power generation. Beyond sending 

us hundred years behind, there are 

existential threats to human health as 

well as environmental cost. 

• Government should urgently 

investigate the human rights violation 

in coal mining communities and sanction 

offenders to forestall reoccurrence. 

• Operational mining companies 

should be made to deposit a determined 

clean-up amount which will 

be used to remediate the mining site 

as nature will have it. 

Finally, we have to ask the hard 

question. Do we really need coal power 

to develop? If there is any iota of doubt, 

then it is important we leave coal in 

the ground. 

Our future is at stake. We have the 

sun, water and natural gas. We cannot 

gamble with coal. 


comment@businessdayonline.com


COMMENT 

DAN STEINBOCK 

Dr Dan Steinbock is the founder of 

Difference Group and has served as 

research director at the India, China 

and America Institute (USA) and visiting 

fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for 

International Studies (China) and the 

EU Center (Singapore). For more, see 

https://www.differencegroup.net/ 

To avoid cost overruns, 

South Korea’s 

2018 Winter Games 

was located in Pyeongchang, 

the smallest 

city to host the Olympics 

since Lillehammer 1994 in 

Norway. Nevertheless, South 

Korea is expected to spend $13 

billion on the games; nearly 

double the $7 billion originally 

projected, which has again 

ignited public debate about 

Olympic cost overruns. 

In 2022, Beijing will become 

the first city to host 

both Winter and Summer 

Olympics. Can the costs be 

contained? 

C002D5556 

In the Cost-Control Scenario, a track-record 

of successful planning, rigorous cost-control 

and ability to repurpose the Olympic facilities 

will play the key role 

BUSINESS DAY 

11 

comment is free 

Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com 

Ensuring Olympic success – after the games 

Rising economic costs 

Hefty price tags and cost overruns 

have become all too common 

in Olympic Games. The 

$15 billion costs of London 

2012 Summer Olympics (76% 

cost overruns) and the $22 

billion Sochi Winter Olympics 

(289% cost overrun) contributed 

to heavy indebtedness 

in the pre-Brexit UK and economic 

erosion in Russia. 

In Brazil 2016, costs were 

projected to be less than $5 

billion, yet reportedly more 

than doubled amid economic, 

political and security challenges. 

Moreover, the Olympic 

building frenzy has left too 

many cities with decaying 

stadiums and empty transit 

systems, as evidenced by 

Athens’s dilapidated venues 

and $11 billion in debt that 

contributed to the Greek 

debt crisis; and the recession 

that swept Nagano, Japan, 

after the 1998 Winter 

Olympics. 

Nevertheless, there are 

positive examples as well. In 

the Los Angeles 1984 Summer 

Olympics, budget awareness 

showed that the games can 

generate actual profit. Moreover, 

in summer games, only 

few hosts - including Beijing 

in 2008 – have managed to 

keep cost overruns reasonable. 

In the 2022 Winter Olympics, 

the estimated budget 

in Beijing will be $3.9 billion, 

less than one-tenth of 

the 2008 Summer Olympics 

financing. That illustrates the 

new objectives. 

Preconditions for success 

Cost control is the first economic 

precondition for Olympic 

success. In 1984, the L.A. 

Summer Olympics committee 

rejected the idea of new sporting 

structures and focused 

on modified and upgraded 

existing venues. Other success 

stories involve new structures 

that have been repurposed after 

the Olympics. 

The second precondition 

is environmental sustainability. 

In 2014, the International 

Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced 

the Olympic Agenda 

2020, which promotes sustainability 

and cost control to 

control economic and environmental 

damage. The quest 

for sustainability requires new 

competition venues to be built 

with renewable technologies, 

as well as energy saving and 

environmentally-friendly materials. 

The third precondition rests 

on successful media deals to 

finance the games. In 1984, the 

L.A. Olympics sought to make 

the games a global TV event; 

an objective that was supported 

not just by Hollywood 

and the industry mecca, but 

efforts to sprinkle more than 

40 venues throughout almost 

500 square kilometres. It was 

Olympic branding that fostered 

continuity across very different 

locations. 

Fourth, to promote sports 

economy, China is rolling out a 

national campaign to encourage 

300 million people to participate 

in winter sports by 2022. The ven- 

ues will be distributed in three 

zones which will foster winter 

sports in and around Beijing 

after the Olympics. If successful, 

this would be an important 

investment in long-term human 

capital: “Healthy mind in 

a healthy body,” as educators 

put it. 

Fifth, Olympics can provide 

critical “seed funding” 

to local tourism in need for 

sustained investment. Even 

though Brazil’s Olympics suffered 

from cost overruns, it 

did attract a record 6.6 million 

international tourists. To 

avoid waste of resources, local 

governments and property 

developers should consider 

a sustained focus on local 

tourism and infrastructure, 

accommodations and environmental 

protection. 

The final precondition involves 

a lasting legacy. Under 

a 1979 agreement, 40 percent 

of the surplus created in the 

1984 L.A. Olympics would stay 

in Southern California. As the 

surplus amounted to $233 million, 

the local share was $93 

million. Thanks to the great 

seed fund for the future, the 

LA84 Foundation has awarded 

more than $230 million in 

grants to youth organizations 

ever since 1984. 

Olympic scenarios for the 

future 

In the future, the probable 

scenarios for Olympic Games 

include three basic trajectories. 

In the Dead-End Scenario, 

the Olympics will continue as 

before in which case the historical 

pattern of soaring costs 

and cost overruns are likely to 

contribute to major economic 

losses, social divides and environmental 

damage. 

In the Cost-Control Scenario, 

a track-record of successful 

planning, rigorous cost-control 

and ability to repurpose the 

Olympic facilities will play the 

key role. Despite noble goals, 

Pyeongchang 2018 failed to 

achieve such cost-consciousness. 

Beijing 2022 seeks success 

in such efforts. 

The Regional Scenario 

could be an option for smaller 

emerging economies. Today, 

Olympics take place in several 

cities but one country. Why 

not organize the games in 

multiple cities across borders? 

If countries seek scale economies 

through regional trade 

agreements, why couldn’t they 

celebrate sports regionally as 

well? 

It is not the size of the stadium 

that matters but the 

audacity of our dreams in our 

quest for excellence. 

* The original, slightly shorter 

commentary was published by 

China Daily on February 22, 

2018 


comment@businessdayonline.com 

BISI ADEYEMI 

Adeyemi is managing director, DCSL 

Corporate Services Limited 

badeyemi@dcsl.com.ng 

The effective director: Personal attributes 

It is acknowledged that the 

office of a Director is a “high 

calling”. It is oftentimes challenging 

and requires of the 

individual certain attributes to 

achieve effectiveness. Whilst each 

Board has its own peculiarities, 

being possessed of certain attributes 

will contribute to the 

effectiveness of a Director and 

by extension the effectiveness 

of the Board. These include the 

following: 

Strong Interpersonal and Communications 

Skills: This key attribute 

is relevant in and out of the 

Boardroom. An effective Director 

should be able to relate well with 

his/her peers, be approachable 

and communicate clearly. Striking 

an appropriate balance between 

talking too much and too little at 

Board meetings is also critical to 

achieving effectiveness. An effective 

Director will be able to clearly 

articulate the key issues and provide 

critical insight. He will speak 

to the issues before the Board 

rather than attack the persons 

involved. Furthermore, whilst Executive 

Directors are required to 

engage with third parties as part 

of their day job, Non-Executive 

Directors will occasionally have 

to represent the company at meetings 

and in discussions with third 

parties including the media. Thus 

the ability to clearly articulate the 

Company’s position even at short 

notice is desirable. 

Independent Judgement: 

Managers are expected to be 

“team-players” and sometimes 

get knocked when they criticize 

a decision made by their peers or 

superiors. However, the Director’s 

role (whether as an Executive or 

Non-Executive) is to take a step 

back and critically assess the 

motivation and consequences of 

a decision, and where necessary, 

put forward a reasoned view – 

even if it is unpopular. A Director 

is expected to apply independent 

judgement to all issues before the 

Board. This requires the Director 

putting the overall interest of the 

Company at the forefront. Directors 

for the most part, find themselves 

being swayed by narrow or 

short-term considerations when 

faced with certain decisions. An 

independent mindset will enable 

the Director take a stand when 

he/she is of the view that the 

company’s long term future is not 

being prioritized, no matter the 

consequences. 

Analytical: Directors are often 

presented with problems that 

have a number of potential solu- 

tions, and the ability to analyze, sift 

through data and make sense of it to 

find the appropriate solution is an 

invaluable personality trait. 

Not Sweating the Small Things: 

Strategic thinking is a key attribute 

of an effective Director as Directors 

are not expected to waste time and 

effort on the small stuff. Sometimes 

in a bid to demonstrate their 

competence and area of expertise 

(show off) they tend to distract 

the Board’s attention and dwell 

on less critical issues. The ability 

to stay focused on those matters 

strictly within the Board’s purview 

is a desirable attribute. For 

Non-Executive Directors, this also 

means respecting the professional 

and technical competencies of the 

Executive Directors and not seeking 

to micro-manage. 

Staying Power: Companies are 

bound to face pressure from regulators, 

short-term focused shareholders, 

the media and competition, 

particularly during periods of 

perceived poor performance, or 

significant structural changes. An 

effective Director should have the 

strength of character to stay calm in 

the face of pressure to provide the 

much needed stability to the Board 

and the Company. 

Respect for Alternative Viewpoints: 

There are “many ways 

to skin a cat” or execute a given 

strategy. At the height of Board effectiveness 

is diversity of skill set, 

experience and perspectives. A 

Director should recognize that the 

overall interest of the organization 

will be better served if multiple 

perspectives are considered before 

arriving at a decision on any 

issue before the Board. The Director 

should not attempt to force 

his/her viewpoint on the Board on 

the oft wrong assumption that it is 

the way to go. This also requires 

appropriate listening skills – a 

sincere attempt to actually “hear” 

what another Director has to say 

as opposed to waiting to counter 

that position. 

Integrity: A significant attribute 

of an effective Director is integrity. 

Integrity connotes sound ethical 

values, transparency, accountability, 

consistency, commitment 

and courage to set an appropriate 

“tone at the top”. Transparency 

and accountability that ensure 

all actions pass the test of public 

scrutiny. Enough time and attention 

committed to making a good 

job of it and courage to ask the 

right questions – or to walk away 

if that becomes necessary. 

In addition to personal attributes, 

certain experiential factors 

also contribute to the effectiveness 

of a Director. These include: 

International Exposure: Companies 

have embraced regional 

and global expansion which come 

with unique challenges. A Director 

that brings to the Board an 

international perspective and 

exposure to global benchmarks is 

an asset to the Board. An effective 

Director is one who keeps abreast 

of global issues that would have 

direct or remote implications for 

the business. 

Industry Expertise: The Board 

is enriched by a Director that 

can contribute knowledge of the 

particular industry when evaluating 

issues and decisions before 

the Board. This need not be the 

industry in which the Company is 

operating as expertise in a sector 

in which the Company necessarily 

interfaces with is always desirable. 

Financial Knowledge: Whilst 

not required to be a financial expert 

or an Accountant, the ability 

to interpret financial reports and 

evaluate the financial implications 

of an action or decision is definitely 

an advantage. Directors should 

not shy away from seeking help in 

this regard. 

Bringing it all together, it is 

important for Directors to always 

be reminded that the leadership 

and direction they provide to the 

enterprise is invaluable and it behooves 

upon them to continuously 

self-develop to ensure impactful 

stewardship. 

Bisi Adeyemi is the Managing 

Director of DCSL Corporate 

Services Limited. Kindly send reactions 

and comments to badeyemi@dcsl.com.ng 


comment@businessdayonline.com

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Sabotaging the war against corruption 

The recall of the 

Executive Secretary 

of the National 

Health Insurance 

Scheme, 

Usman Yusuf, by president 

Buhari is troubling and may 

have effectively ended the 

administration’s so-called 

war on corruption. Yusuf, 

appointed to the position in 

2016, was suspended by the 

Minister of Health in July 

2017 following allegations 

of corruption and abuse of 

office. Specifically, Yusuf 

was alleged to have misappropriated 

the sum of N919 

million, being part of contributions 

by subscribers of 

the scheme. 

He was alleged to have 

diverted a huge part of the 

money under the pretext of 

training staff of the scheme, 

bought a Sport Utility Vehicle 

for N58 million, approved 

contracts to the tune of N1 

billion naira to cronies and 

turned the organisation to 

a family one, populating the 

place with his relatives. The 

Senate equally accused him 

of “corrupt expenditure of 

N292 million...without recourse 

to any appropriate 

approving authority. 

Following extant rules, the 

minister of health suspended 

Yusuf and set up an administrative 

panel to investigate 

him. The Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, and the Independent 

and Corrupt Practices Commission, 

ICPC, also stepped 

into the matter and are investigating 

Yusuf. But Yusuf 

would not go quietly. He kept 

challenging the authority of the 

minister to suspend him. Yusuf, 

responding to the minister’s 

letter suspending him, said he 

was “unable to comply” with 

the directive because, according 

to him, only the president 

had the powers to suspend or 

sack him. But the minister insisted 

and the suspension was 

given effect. 

Still in a show of defiance, 

Yusuf refused to appear before 

the administrative panel 

investigating him. Regardless, 

he was found guilty of 

the panel set up to investigate 

him and the report of the 

panel had been submitted to 

the president since September 

last year. 

However, without taking action 

on the report of the panel 

or allowing the EFCC and ICPC 

conclude their investigation, 

the president via a letter from 

his chief of staff to the minister, 

reinstated Yusuf to his 

position. His only punishment 

was that he was “admonished 

to work harmoniously with the 

minister.” 

This is shocking and unprecedented. 

But we are not 

surprised. That was also how 

government reinstated, promoted 

and posted Abdulrasheed 

Maina, former Chairman 

of the Presidential Task 

Force on Pension Reform, an 

alleged criminal and fugitive 

from the law, to the Ministry 

of Interior. Despite the many 

denials by the government, it 

was confirmed that all senior 

government officials, beginning 

from the president, to the 

Attorney General and Minister 

of Justice, were all involved in 

the saga. 

This only makes a mockery 

of the so-much trumpeted 

war against corruption of 

the administration. Just like 

Senator Shehu Sani famously 

described the Buhari administration, 

it treats cases of 

corruption against opposition 

with insecticide but treats corruption 

cases against its party 

members and close associates 

with deodorant. 

This adds to the long list 

of weighty corruption allegations 

against close associates 

and aides of the president that 

have been swept under the carpet 

without investigation. We 

recall the allegations against 

General Tukur Burutai, Chief 

of Army Staff, General Abdulrahman 

Dambazau, Minister 

of Interior and former Chief 

of Army Staff, Abba Kyari, and 

Chief of Staff to the President, 

Babachir Lawal, former Secretary 

to the Government of 

the Federation (SGF). Interestingly 

also, the Presidential 

panel set up to probe arms 

procurement between 2007 

and 2015, and whose reports 

were being used to prosecute 

past military chiefs was hurriedly 

disbanded the moment 

it began moves to investigate 

the tenure of the Present National 

Security Adviser, Babagana 

Monguno as Chief of 

Defence Intelligence between 

July 2009 and September 2011. 

The curious reason given by 

the government for its dissolution 

was that it has outlived 

its usefulness. No wonder 

an analyst recently quipped 

that “Buhari’s so-called anticorruption 

fight is the most 

invidiously selective, the least 

transparent, the most brazenly 

unjust, and the silliest joke 

in Nigeria’s entire history.” 

Worse is the open clannishness 

and nepotism being displayed 

by the administration. 

It gives the impression that 

the government is not for all 

Nigerians and that some Nigerians 

are more favoured and 

are untouchable no matter the 

offence they allegedly commit. 

Perhaps, by the time the 

history of this administration 

is being written, it will go down 

in history as the most clannish 

and provincial and did 

the most to divide the country 

along ethnic and religious 

lines. 

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In Association With 

Calling BS 

High-school pupils plan to protest against mad gun laws 

This might be the start of something 

A spanner in the works 

The Pimlico 

Plumbers case 

puts the gig 

economy on trial 

When does a self-employed worker 

become an employee? 

NOT since Super Mario has the 

public been so gripped by the 

fate of a plumber. On February 

20th the gallery of the Supreme 

Court was filled with academics, trade 

unionists and businesspeople who had 

come to watch a hearing concerning a 

dispute between Pimlico Plumbers, a 

big London company, and one of its 

former engineers, Gary Smith. The case 

centres on whether Pimlico correctly 

classed Mr Smith as self-employed, 

merely contracting his services to the 

firm, or whether, as he argues, his 

relationship with the company more 

THREE days after 

Nikolas Cruz walked 

into Marjory Stoneman 

Douglas High 

School in Florida 

and shot dead 14 students and 

three teachers, one of his former 

schoolmates addressed 

a gun-control rally. “They say 

that tougher gun laws do not 

prevent gun violence,” shouted 

18-year-old Emma Gonzales, 

barely pausing to wipe away the 

tears that were streaming down 

her face. “We call BS!” Her moving 

speech, in which that line 

became a refrain taken up by a 

chanting crowd, was broadcast 

around the world. 

The school shooting, on February 

14th, was America’s deadliest 

since 2012 when a gunman 

killed 20 children, six adults and 

himself at Sandy Hook Elementary 

School in Connecticut. But 

it has been the response of the 

surviving students, rather than 

its grim toll, that has kept the 

tragedy in the news a little longer 

than usual. The pupils, from Broward 

County, an affluent area 

north of Miami, have poured 

their grief and rage into a new 

campaign for gun control. In 

television interviews, speeches 

and social-media posts they 

have excoriated politicians who 

take cash from the National Rifle 

Association and argue against 

expanding gun controls. With 

other activists, they have announced 

plans for nationwide 

protests in March. 

Why has their response been 

so forceful? One reason is the 

age of the survivors. The pupils, 

in their late teens, started their 

education after a massacre at 

Columbine High School in Colorado 

in 1999, in which 13 were 

killed. That means they have 

been practising active-shooter 

drills in the classroom since 

kindergarten. Seeing a school 

shooting as an event to prepare 

for, rather than an awful aberration, 

seems to have fuelled the 

students’ anger. Though polling 

suggests that young people are 

only slightly more in favour of 

gun-control measures than their 

elders, those surveys focus on 

those aged 18 and above. There 

may be a pre- and post-Columbine 

divide within that group. 

The survivors of the latest 

school shooting have also grown 

up using social media, which has 

helped them channel their rage 

into a potent hashtag movement, 

#NeverAgain. And they have, at 

a formative age, witnessed the 

visual power of mass protest, 

thanks to the #MeToo movement 

and the women’s marches of 

the past two Januarys. Indeed, 

they have received help from 

its organisers, as well as other 

groups, for the “March for Our 

Lives” planned in Washington, 

DC, on March 24th. 

What will the teenagers’ impressive 

campaigning achieve? 

Some politicians seem to have 

taken note, at least. Marco Rubio, 

a Republican senator from 

Florida, has said he welcomes 

a Democratic bill in the state 

legislature that would allow 

Florida’s courts to temporarily 

prevent people from having guns 

if they are considered a threat to 

themselves or others. 

President Donald Trump, 

who waited 20 hours before addressing 

America about the tragedy 

but is unlikely to have missed 

the students on the Sunday talk 

shows, said he backed a bill to 

improve background checks on 

those who buy firearms. Then 

he said more teachers should 

be armed. The president has ordered 

the Department of Justice 

to propose regulations to ban 

bump-stocks, which can help 

convert semi-automatic firearms 

into automatic ones, and which 

were used by a gunman who 

killed 58 people in Las Vegas in 

October. Congress talked about 

banning them then, but did 

nothing. In any case, a bumpstock 

ban would have made no 

difference in the Marjory Stoneman 

Douglas shooting, which 

was carried out with a semiautomatic 

AR-15 rifle. 

More stringent gun controls, of 

the kind introduced by Australia 

and Britain after mass-shooting 

atrocities, are unlikely to come 

soon. But the national protests 

the students are planning for next 

month could gather momentum. 

A new poll by Quinnipiac University 

suggested that 67% of Americans 

back a nationwide ban on 

assault rifles—a higher percentage 

than after Sandy Hook. And in 

Florida, the issue could become 

prominent in the mid-term elections 

later this year, especially if, 

as seems likely, Rick Scott, the 

state’s gun-loving governor, runs 

for the Senate. 

closely approximated one of employment. 

The case matters because more and 

more Britons have working lives that 

resemble Mr Smith’s. Partly fuelled by 

technology, Britain’s “gig economy” 

has taken off in recent years. More 

workers are operating on short-term 

contracts or going freelance, rather 

than occupying full-time, permanent 

positions. Uber, a ride-hailing firm, has 

perhaps 50,000 drivers in Britain (and 

is fighting its own legal case similar to 

Pimlico’s). Overall, Britain has around 

1m gig workers. 

The gig economy has upsides for 

workers. An app can be downloaded in 

seconds, making it easier than ever to 

find a job. It has helped Britain’s working-age 

employment rate exceed 75%, 

almost reaching its highest ever. Many 

enjoy the flexibility that such work provides. 

And some employers are pretty 

good. At Pimlico’s office, plumbers can 

work out in a swanky gym, then load up 

on protein in the subsidised canteen. 

Some have six-figure incomes. 

Yet problems have emerged. Gig 

workers miss out on rights that employees 

have, such as sick pay and 

protection against unfair dismissal. 

They are not entitled to the hourly 

minimum wage of £7.50 ($10.50). Many 

earn far less. Frank Field, a Labour MP, 

has described the gig economy as “the 

vulnerable human underbelly of the 

labour market”. Earlier this month it 

was reported that a delivery driver 

Continues on page 15


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

15 


Administrative bipolar disorder 

One arm of the Trump administration thinks climate change is a security threat 

Another thinks it is a hoax 

UNTIL America gets 

a grand military parade, 

a drive along 

the wharf at Naval 

Station Norfolk, in 

Virginia, is the next-best thing. 

Destroyers, missile-cruisers, 

nuclear-powered submarines 

and, most fearsome of all, two 

333-metre (1,092-foot) Nimitzclass 

aircraft-carriers, are enough 

to make Americans’ spines tingle 

and enemies shudder. But the 

menace that most concerns Captain 

Dean VanderLey, the chief 

civil engineer for the navy in the 

mid-Atlantic region, is one that is 

undeterred by military might. In 

the 100 years since the base was 

first built, the sea level has risen 

by half a metre. In a major hurricane, 

he says, while surveying 

the piers and a road linking them 

to an airfield, “a lot of this would 

probably be flooded”. 

Captain VanderLey is not 

alone in fretting about the military 

consequences of climate 

change. A report published on 

January 26th by the Department 

of Defence (DoD) found that more 

than half of the 3,500 sites surveyed 

are already reporting climate-related 

problems (see map). Droughts 

are leading to water shortages, 

heatwaves are causing some livefire 

exercises to be cancelled and 

shifting wind patterns are disrupting 

aircraft sorties. 

Then there is the flooding. On 

February 18th scientists involved 

in the federal government’s National 

Climate Assessment, a 

four-yearly exercise mandated by 

Congress, presented an update to 

the last report from November, 

showing that sea levels are rising 

twice as fast as 25 years ago. 

In 2009 the DoD found that 128 

coastal installations, including 56 

naval ones, would be at risk if sea 

levels rose by a metre. The Navy’s 

sites alone were valued at $100bn. 

In 2016 the Union of Concerned 

Scientists found that nine strategically 

important bases, including 

several in the Hampton Roads 

region around Norfolk, could 

permanently lose half their land 

area by 2100 if waters rise by two 

metres. 

Critical outposts abroad are 

similarly vulnerable. Twenty 

years from now a new $1bn radar 

installed on the Marshall Islands, 

which helps to shield America 

and its allies from nuclear-tipped 

missiles launched by North Korea, 

could be under water. Diego 

Garcia, a staging post on an 

Indian Ocean atoll crucial for 

operations in the Persian Gulf, 

may be submerged too. 

President Donald Trump’s 

policies, which include pulling 

America out of the Paris climate 

agreement to limit global warming 

and championing coal, make 

all this more likely. In the past 

two months his administration 

has put his climate-sceptical 

stamp on the national-security 

and defence strategies. These 

documents, which each administration 

must draw up, lay out a 

high-level plan for keeping America 

safe. Under Barack Obama, 

they listed climate change as a 

strategic threat to be assessed and 

countered. Yet in a contradiction 

that is typical of this White House, 

other parts of the government are 

carrying on with planning for a 

warmer planet regardless. 

As global temperatures rise so 

does the likelihood of extreme 

weather, with calls for military 

assistance in disaster relief. Last 

September the USS Wasp helicopter-carrier 

was sailing from 

Norfolk to Japan when it was 

diverted to hurricane-struck US 

Virgin Islands, Dominica and 

Puerto Rico. Melting sea ice in 

the Arctic opens up a new theatre 

of operations, especially against 

a belligerent Russia. As it thaws, 

the Bering Strait could become 

another strategic choke-point 

like those of Hormuz (the gateway 

to the Gulf) or Malacca (which 

connects the Indian and Pacific 

Oceans). Some studies have 

linked global warming to unrest 

such as the Arab spring. James 

Mattis, the defence secretary, has 

called climate change “a driver of 

instability”. 

In December, days before he 

unveiled his climate-changeless 

national-security strategy, Mr 

Trump signed a defence bill that 

called climate change “a direct 

threat” and required the DoD to 

report which assets are at risk. 

He kept his chief climate envoy, 

George Banks, on the National 

Security Council. (Unable to gain 

a security clearance, Mr Banks 

resigned in February.) The Pentagon 

betrays no intention of shredding 

Obama-era rules directing 

the armed services to assess and 

counter climate-related weaknesses. 

It helps that the military 

bureaucracy is more hulking 

Nimitz than nimble corvette, 

remarks Ann Phillips, a retired 

admiral formerly involved in the 

Navy’s climate-planning: “It takes 

time to turn around.” 

Bureaucratic inertia is not 

the only reason why reality has 

changed less than the rhetoric 

would imply. As David Titley, 

another retired admiral now 

at Pennsylvania State University, 

observes, Mr Trump is the 

mirror-image of Mr Obama, who 

stressed the security implications 

of climate change but did 

little to tackle them. Even before 

Mr Trump took office a year ago, 

Captain VanderLey’s construction 

budgets never included extra 

dollars earmarked for climate 

adaptation (or “resilience” as 

he prefers to call it, studiously 

avoiding talk of climate change). 

In practical terms, Mr Obama’s 

climate cheerleading can sometimes 

be hard to tell apart from 

Trumpian neglect. 

100,000 tonnes of floating 

diplomacy 

Former officials insist that 

during the last six years of Mr 

Obama’s presidency, Republican 

majorities in Congress would 

simply have blocked measures 

overtly aimed at combating global 

warming. Some money was (and 

still is) buried in the DOD’s notoriously 

opaque budget, they say. 

The White House and Congress 

leave the men in uniform lots of 

room to interpret what counts as a 

“threat”, notes Francesco Femia of 

the Centre for Climate and Security, 

a think-tank. Often, climate 

adaptation is a side-benefit of 

work motivated by other considerations. 

Norfolk’s four doubledecker 

piers erected since the 

mid-1990s for $60m apiece were 

chiefly designed to ease access 

to electricity, water and internet 

cables that could previously only 

be reached by boat, and to accommodate 

modern ships’ higher 

decks, explains Joe Bouchard, a 

former commander of the base. If 

they also guard against encroaching 

seas, all the better. 

Climate change is one among 

many threats facing American 

strategists. Others are more pressing, 

from North Korean nukes and 

Chinese island-building to wars 

in Afghanistan and Syria. But its 

importance is poised to grow as 

the Earth warms, so Mr Trump’s 

nonchalance looks myopic. For 

all its ponderous officialdom, the 

Pentagon also has an especially 

clear chain of command. What 

the man at the top considers 

important—or unimportant— 

therefore matters a great deal. 

Mr Trump might not hobble the 

armed forces’ efforts to deal with 

the consequences of climate 

change. But a more farsighted 

commander-in-chief would be 

adding to their armour. 

The Pimlico Plumbers case 

puts the gig economy... 


had missed a medical appointment 

for fear of being fined by his firm, and 

subsequently died. 

Britain is grappling with these dilemmas 

more diligently than perhaps 

any country. Last July an official review 

of “modern employment practices” 

made over 50 recommendations, including 

removing some of the tax 

advantages that the self-employed 

currently enjoy. Employment lawyers 

are also busy. The past two years have 

seen a spate of challenges to improve 

workers’ rights. 

Broadly speaking, a working Briton 

can be one of three things: an employee, 

self-employed, or an intermediate 

category known as a “worker”, which 

comes with some rights, including a 

minimum wage. Gig-economy serfs are 

often deemed self-employed. But campaigners, 

including those backing the 

plumber in the Pimlico case, argue that 

firms often exert great control over their 

staff, forcing them to wear uniforms or 

controlling their hours. That may imply 

their staff are really “workers”. 

In many instances, people have 

been misclassified. In 2016 a tribunal 

ruled that Uber drivers were workers, 

not self-employed. Last year a cycle 

courier who worked for CitySprint, a 

delivery firm, won the right to paid 

holidays. This month a tribunal ruled 

that a former BBC newsreader had been 

wrongly classified as self-employed and 

was thus liable for a big tax bill. Some 

firms, however, have resisted legal challenges. 

Deliveroo, a takeaway service, 

has successfully argued that its staff 

are not workers, since they may send 

someone else to do a job in their place. 

The Supreme Court’s verdict on the 

Pimlico case could have a big impact 

on other businesses if the court rules 

against the firm and offers an expanded 

interpretation of worker status. That 

could make it difficult for arguments 

such as Deliveroo’s to succeed in the 

future, suggests Jason Moyer-Lee of 

the IWGB, a trade union. At the very 

least, better awareness of the pitfalls of 

misclassifying workers may make firms 

leerier of trying their luck. Yet with gig 

work so varied, it is impossible to devise 

a definition of employment status 

that firms cannot find a way around. 

Responding to last year’s review, 

the government rejected the recommendation 

on tax, but endorsed other 

proposals. It wants an online tool to 

allow Britons to check their employment 

status. It is considering granting 

a higher minimum wage to workers 

on insecure contracts. It has promised 

tougher enforcement of existing laws.




A bigger gig 

OPEC mulls a long-term alliance with Russia to keep oil prices stable 

One aim is to allay fears that a current pact will unravel 

OIL bears beware. On February 

20thSuhail al-Mazrouei, 

OPEC’s rotating president 

and energy minister of the United 

Arab Emirates, said the 14-member 

producers’ group is working on a 

plan for a formal alliance with ten 

other petrostates, including Russia, 

aimed at propping up oil prices for 

the foreseeable future. If it comes to 

anything, it could be OPEC’s most 

ambitious venture in decades. 

The result will not be, he insists, 

a “supergroup”. The notion of Saudi 

Arabia and Russia joining forces 

as the Traveling Wilburys of the oil 

world may be a bit jarring. It remains 

an idea in “draft” form. But whatever 

its chances, it attempts to shift a 

belief widely held by participants in 

oil markets: that non-American oil 

producers are helpless against the 

shale revolution. 

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That belief has strengthened because 

of a renewed flood of American 

shale production in the latter 

part of 2017 after prices of West 

Texas Intermediate climbed above 

$50 a barrel. The International Energy 

Agency (IEA), the industry’s 

forecaster-in-chief, says America 

could overtake the two biggest producers, 

Russia and Saudi Arabia, 

this year. Such countries, it added, 

faced the “sobering thought” that 

America’s rise to the super league 

was reminiscent of the first wave 

of shale growth that ended with an 

oil-price crash in 2014. 

The shale resurgence comes at a 

delicate time for OPEC, Russia and 

the rest. It is largely their actions that 

have pushed up prices. In 14 months 

they have come close to their goal of 

curtailing oil production in order 

to return the oversupply of global 

crude to its more manageable five- 

Go east, young founder 

Chinese cities are competing to woo overseas entrepreneurs 

The authorities are offering foreign founders office space, cash, advice, logistics services and even basic furniture 

WHEN Maria Veikhman, 

founder of SCORISTA, a 

Russian credit-scoring 

startup, was considering expansion 

abroad, China immediately came to 

mind. She believes the scope there is 

vast, for two-fifths of Chinese have no 

credit records. Ms Veikhman settled 

in Tianfu Software Park, a stateowned 

incubator in Chengdu, capital 

of Sichuan province where city authorities 

“offer almost everything for 

free”. Complementary facilities range 

from office space, basic furniture and 

logistics services to detailed guidance 

on entrepreneurial methods. 

Chengdu aims to catch up with 

Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, 

which at present are in a different 

entrepreneurial league—together 

they have over a hundred unicorns, 

or private startups worth over $1bn. 

The south-western city allocated 

200m yuan ($30m) in 2016 to an 

innovation-and-startup fund for 

overseas founders, and hands out up 

to 1m yuan in cash to well-capitalised 

year average (see chart). They still 

have about 74m barrels to go. As yet, 

Mr Mazrouei says, there is no “exit 

strategy” for when the agreement is 

reviewed in June. 

Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist 

at Rapidan Energy Group, an 

American consultancy, likens their 

task to central bankers unwinding 

ultra-easy monetary policy. 

They risk spooking the markets if 

they send the wrong signal. So the 

proposal of a pact lasting into the 

foreseeable future is a way to reassure 

the market that the grown-ups 

will continue to regulate supply. 

“They’re saying, ‘Daddy is back’.” 

A shift is under way in relations 

between Saudi Arabia and Russia, 

the two leaders of the OPEC/non- 

OPEC cabal. They appear to have set 

aside a mistrust, bordering on enmity, 

that was exacerbated by their 

support for opposing sides in the 

Syrian civil war. “The Russia-Saudi 

foreign startups and joint ventures. If 

the founders are “top international 

talents”, such as Nobel laureates, the 

incentive soars to 100m yuan. Last 

March Chengdu’s Hi-Tech Zone 

opened an office to provide startup 

services for expats, including corporate 

registrations. Some 3,000 

foreigners now work there, many 

operating their own businesses. 

Other cities are making similar 

moves. Beijing and Zhejiang have 

opened well-funded centres for overseas 

entrepreneurs. The authorities 

may be particularly keen on attracting 

venturesome “sea turtles”, meaning 

foreign-educated or foreign-born 

Chinese, but they help non-ethnic 

Chinese too. Shanghai and Wuhan, 

the capital of Hubei province, are 

planning new facilities for winners 

of international startup competitions 

held in China. In at least ten provinces, 

new immigration policies are 

easing the visa process. Foreigners 

graduating from Chinese universities 

can apply for two- to five-year 

relationship is real. ‘Put a ring on 

it’, to quote Beyoncé,” says Helima 

Croft, an oil analyst at RBC Capital 

Markets. She says both countries 

need high prices to soothe tensions 

at home. 

Since King Salman of Saudi 

Arabia visited Moscow for the first 

time in October, the two countries’ 

oil ministers have frequently 

popped over to each other’s capitals. 

Mr Mohamedi says Muhammad 

bin Salman, the Saudi crown 

prince, needs oil at $70-80 a barrel 

to keep the economy steady as 

he enacts reforms, in particular 

the partial privatisation of Saudi 

Aramco, the state oil company. 

He believes Russia can help with 

that. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s 

president, who faces elections in 

March, sees eye-to-eye with Prince 

Muhammad. 

Furthermore, the two countries 

are discussing unprecedented 

residence permits marked “startup”. If 

they meet certain criteria, expatriates 

working for young firms can apply 

for permanent residence. In Zhongguancun, 

a tech hub in Beijing, 353 

expatriates have been issued with 

“green cards” since 2016. A stateowned 

incubator there, Zhongguancun 

Inno Way, in 2017 incubated 878 

startups; 121 of them were founded 

by foreigners or by sea turtles. 

Three big hurdles still stand in the 

way of foreign entrepreneurs. Despite 

cities’ efforts to smooth immigration, 

for many founders visas are still hard 

to come by. Ms Veikhman has been 

refused a visa for months with little 

explanation, and has to shuttle between 

Moscow and Chengdu each 

month. Tight internet control also 

cuts the efficiency of starting a business. 

Overseas entrepreneurs must 

work hard to adapt to the internet environment 

inside the “great firewall” 

where Google, Twitter and many 

other services are blocked. 

Notwithstanding the cash on ofinvestments 

in each other’s oil 

industries. A Russian sovereign 

wealth fund is considering buying 

shares in the Aramco listing. 

Aramco is mulling a stake in a vast 

liquefied-natural-gas project in 

the Russian Arctic. 

The possibility of long-term 

co-operation between the two 

countries to support oil prices also 

has a defensive logic. Not only is 

rising American oil production a 

threat, but in the coming decades 

demand for oil is expected to wane 

as it is replaced by cleaner sources 

of energy. This could cause a race 

to the bottom as big producers try 

to sell their oil before it becomes 

worthless. Restraining production 

is a way to postpone such feral 

competition, at least until Russia 

and Saudi Arabia can wean their 

economies off oil. 

But the perils of such a strategy 

may outweigh its benefits. If 

fer from Chengdu and other cities, 

raising proper finance also remains 

problematic. Capital controls make 

it difficult for venture-capital firms 

that use yuan to invest in foreign entities; 

they usually have to enter a joint 

venture with a Chinese citizen. Local 

investors tend to prefer backing fully 

Chinese enterprises. 

Yet the country’s other attractions 

are potent. “Even a niche market 

in China is a huge one,” says Greig 

Charlton, a former British banker 

who has run 247tickets.com, a ticketpurchase 

website, in Shanghai since 

2014. Thanks to the promise of online 

ticket-booking in China, a relatively 

inexperienced entrepreneur like 

Mr Charlton has the opportunity to 

work with some of the world’s biggest 

concert-promoters. 

A deep pool of talent is another 

lure—the reason why, for example, 

App Annie, a market data and insights 

provider co-founded by a 

group of European entrepreneurs in 

Beijing, maintained its R&D centre in 

it works, and prices rise sharply 

above $70 a barrel, it will flush out 

yet more production in America 

and other big producing countries 

such as Brazil, as happened before 

2014. That would reinforce what the 

IEA calls the risk of history repeating 

itself. So OPEC and non-OPEC 

producers would need strategies 

to keep prices from rising too high 

as well as falling too low. Bassam 

Fattouh of the Oxford Institute for 

Energy Studies, a think-tank, says 

that might require joint investment 

approaches, which are “extremely 

difficult, if not impossible”. 

If prices tumble, countries would 

need to cut production further. In 

OPEC’s history Saudi Arabia has 

reluctantly played the role of swing 

producer, regulating its output 

to keep the market in balance. A 

successful long-term arrangement 

would need Russia and OPEC 

members to share more of the burden, 

which they have mostly been 

loth to do. 

A further concern is Saudi Arabia’s 

OPEC strategy once Aramco 

sells shares to investors. Mohamed 

Ramady, the author of a new e- 

book, “Saudi Aramco 2030”, says 

that relations between partially 

privatised oil companies and their 

governments become strained 

when the interests of governments 

clash with those of shareholders. 

“Privatising Aramco could then 

become a double-edged sword for 

the kingdom,” he writes. 

At present, Saudi Arabia’s rulers 

appear to believe that the risks are 

worth taking. They may have more 

to fear from a restive population at 

home than shale producers abroad. 

But they underestimate the risk of 

shale, and overestimate their own 

ability to manage the market, at 

their peril. 

Beijing even after it shifted its headquarters 

to San Francisco. When Stuart 

Oda, a Japanese entrepreneur, cofounded 

Alesca Life, a Beijing-based 

agricultural-technology company, 

he found young Chinese executives 

far more willing to take a risk with 

a startup than Japanese ones were.



C002D5556 


Monday 26 February 2018 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 19 

COMPANIES 

& MARKETS 

Company news analysis and insight 

PENGASSAN proffers 

solutions to Nigeria’s 

lingering fuel crisis 

Pg. 21 

2018’s lists of dividend declared so far 

BALA AUGIE 

There are indications 

that financial 

results will start 

pouring from different 

corners into 

the website of the Nigerian 

Stock Exchange (NSE). 

Before those results start 

trickling in, we have decided 

to show the lists of firms that 

have paid dividend so far in 

2017. 

Dividend paying stocks 

are attractive to investors as 

they expect share appreciation. 

Nigerian Breweries Plc 

The board of directors 

of the Nigerian brewer has 

recommended a N33 billion 

dividend to shareholders for 

2017 financial year, which 

15.39 percent increase from 

the N28.13 billion distributed 

in 2016. 

The recommendation, 

which amounts to a total 

dividend of N4.13 per share 

for the 2017 operating year 

was part of the company’s 

filing to The Nigerian Stock 

Exchange on Thursday, 15th 

February 2018. 

NB has been maintained a 

100 payout ratio as it distributed 

all of earnings as dividend, 

which is a manifestation of 

a consistent profit position 

while dividend yield stood at 

3 percent. 

While the company recorded 

a 16.18 percent increase 

in net income to end 

2017 financial year, profit 

margins have succumbed 

to higher production and 

material costs. Sales volumes 

have dropped 4-6 percent, 

according to parent company 

Heineken. 

Nigerian Breweries is 

trading at a price earnings 

ratio of 32x; this suggest the 

market expects the stock to 

grow its earnings every year. 

The stock is also trading 

at a price to book ratio of 

5.8x, meaning that its market 

value is nearly 6 times its Net 

Assets. 

The Nigerian Brewers’ 

share price closed at N124 at 

the close of business on Friday, 

valuing it at N1.04 trillion. 

Transcorp Hotel Plc 

The board of Transcorp 

Hotels Plc has recommended 

to shareholders for approval 

of a dividend of 12.40 kobo 

per share to be paid on March 

2017. For the year ended 

December 2017, the company 

posted a profit after tax 

of N2.68 billion while sales 

stood at N13.84 billion in the 

period under review. 

The company has been 

grappling with the tough and 

unpredictable macroeconomic 

environment. 

Slow economy, 

financing 

costs hit Kenya 

Power’s firsthalf 

profit 

Kenya Power posted 

a 19 per cent drop 

in first-half pretax 

profit, mainly due 

to sluggish economic growth 

and higher financing costs. 

The firm, which is the 

main electricity distributor 

in the East African nation, 

suffered from lower demand 

due to a protracted presidential 

election, which hurt 

economic activity. 

Electricity sales increased 

2.3 per cent in the six months 

to end-December and revenue 

rose by a modest 2.5 

per cent, the company said 

on Friday. Pretax profit was 

4.6 billion shillings (45.21 

million dollars ). 

Financing costs jumped 

11 per cent to 3.2 billion shillings 

as the company raised 

its use of short-term debt 

during the period. Kenya 

Power said it would take 

advantage of the government’s 

plan to boost the 

manufacturing sector, to 

increase electricity demand 

in the second half. Kenya 

President Uhuru Kenyatta 

has set out manufacturing as 

one of his priority areas and 

he has directed officials to 

implement a new night-time 

electricity tariff for firms who 

wish to increase production 

Council of State okays $1bn to boost 

agriculture, economic diversification 

The Council of State 

on Thursday approved 

a fresh one 

billion dollars to 

further boost the nation’s 

agricultural sector, Gov. Ibikumle 

Amosun of Ogun, has 

disclosed. 

Amosun, briefing the 

State House Correspondents 

after the council’s meeting 

at the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja, expressed hope that 

the amount would enhance 

the Federal Government’s 

diversification programmes. 

However, the governor 

kept mum on how the funds 

will be sourced. 

The meeting which was 

presided over by President 

Muhammadu Buhari had 

in attendance, three former 

Heads of State, Gen. 

Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Abdulsalami 

Abubakar and 

former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo. 

According to him, an 

appreciable part of the one 

billion dollars is expected 

to be distributed around 

agricultural schemes, with 

conditions set out for the 

beneficiaries to meet before 

accessing the funds. 

“The Council deliberated 

extensively on our economy, 

how to diversify our 

economy and the efforts 

that were being made to pull 

Nigeria out of the doldrums. 

“The Council appreciated 

the efforts that had been 

in place to move Nigeria 

away from recession. Now, 

gradually we are getting it 

right and Council noted 

that what is being done is 

good. 

“Council also noted what 

was being done in the area 

of agriculture; how Nigeria 

moved from one monolithic 

economy to now a diversified 

economy. 

“Council noted that there 

is still more to be done. It 

was advised that we should 

improve on the funding and 

increase the funding on 

agriculture and it was paltry 

about 200 million dollars. 

“But, if you compare that 

side by side with what we 

are investing, what we are 

pumping into the area of 

oil, the monolithic economy 

that we have running, we 

noticed that it is just insignificant. 

“So, the Council recommended 

that at least about a 

billion dollar should now be 

pumped into agriculture,’’ 

he added. 

Amosun said that the 

council noted how Nigeria 

moved the budget from 

about four trillion naira to 

now about eight trillion 

naira. 

He said: “It also noted 

that when President Muhammadu 

Buhari came 

in, he was jostling at a very 

deep because oil had nosedived 

from 112 dollars in 

2014 and in 2016 it was 30 

dollars. 

“Council also appreciated 

the efforts of the Ministers 

of Agriculture and 

that of Budget and National 

Planning after their briefings, 

on the efforts they are 

giving to Mr President and 

agreed they should continue 

in what they are doing.’’ 

Fidelity Bank’s Corporate governance 

certification will boost investments – Ebi 

Fidelity Bank Plc has 

expressed optimism 

that the Corporate 

Governance Rating 

System (CGRS) certification 

of the bank and its directors 

will boost investors’ confidence 

and enhance business 

opportunities. 

Mr Ernest Ebi, the bank’s 

Chairman, stated this in an 

interview with the News 

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 

in Lagos on the sidelines 

of CGRS certification ceremony 

by the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange (NSE) and the 

Convention on Business Integrity 

(CBI). 

Ebi said that the bank 

would leverage on the 

gains of the certification to 

strengthen business opportunities 

to ensure maximum 

returns to its stakeholders. 

According to him, the 

CGRS will open a lot of business 

opportunities for the 

bank. 

He said the bank would 

not rest on its oars. 

“You know the beautiful 

thing about this certification 

is that it boosts investors’ 

confidence in the bank, because 

when they know that 

you have been through this 

process, there is a lot to gain. 

“Going through the test 

itself brings out a lot of issues 

about corporate governance, 

investor relations, among 

others. “So, for eleven directors 

to go through this process, 

it is going to be a great 

morale booster for us and 

will encourage a lot of investors 

to look to our direction,” 

Ebi said. 

He said that the bank 

would maximise all available 

business opportunities 

by engaging investors for 

desired growth and development. 

The chairman said that 

capital, risk management 

and corporate governance 

are three things upper most 

in the minds of the bank’s 

board and management. 

He explained that the 

bank would remain committed 

to good corporate 

governance practices for 

competitiveness. 

NAN reports that Fidelity 

Bank and its directors were 

among 35 companies and 

437 directors that made over 

the 70 per cent threshold for 

CGRS process.


C002D5556 


Monday 26 February 2018 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 21 

COMPANIES & MARKETS 

Business Event 

L-R: Chiedu Osakwe, representing the vice president; Abdullahi Mahmoud, former director, FBN 

Holdings Plc; Chidi Anya, director, FBN Holdings Plc; UK Eke, GMD, FBN Holdings Plc; Mallam 

Bello Maccido, chairman FBNQuest Merchant Bank, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, Council of 

Nigeria Stock Exchange, at the Corporate Governance Rating System Certification Ceremony 2018 

L-R: Onome Umuze, relationship manager, corporate banking division, First City Monument Bank 

(FCMB); Elizabeth Ajibola, managing director, MT Olive Nigeria Limited; Mfon Ukpanah, manager 

distributive trade, FCMB, and Olusegun Oyewole, relationship manager, corporate banking division, 

FCMB, during the Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc Customer & Bankers Forum in Lagos. 

PENGASSAN proffers solutions to 

Nigeria’s lingering fuel crisis 

JOSHUA BASSEY 

Petroleum and Natural 

Gas Senior Staff Association 

of Nigeria 

(PENGASSAN) has 

listed total rehabilitation 

of the refineries, fuel depots 

and all oil/gas infrastructure as 

the solution to the lingering fuel 

crisis in the country. 

The union particularly expressed 

concern about the attendant 

man-hours being lost by 

Nigerians queuing up at station 

stations across the country and 

challenged the Federal Government 

to rise to the task of bringing 

an end to what it described 

as “an embarrassing situation”. 

According to PENGASSAN, 

it is time for the government to 

involve the Original Equipment 

Manufacturers (OEM) in the 

rehabilitation and repair of the 

four refineries. 

“Our refineries are due for a 

major expansion and ‘debottlenecking’, 

development of new 

strategies in ensuring adequate 

and sustainable crude supply 

to the refineries. Government 

should fast-track processes that 

will encourage private sector 

involvement in local refining,” 

said Francis Johnson, president 

of PENGASSAN, who led 

other unionists to talk with the 

Petroleum Products Pricing 

Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) 

and Petroleum and Pipelines 

marketing Company (PPMC). 

Addressing the managements 

of the agencies and some 

legislators during the visits, 

Johnson, however, praised their 

roles in ensuring that Nigerians 

were protected from feeling the 

pangs of the vagaries of global 

price regime of petroleum products, 

and prevented collusion 

and restrictive trade practices 

harmful in the sector. 

Johnson said, “We want sustainable 

steps to be taken to end 

the persistent fuel crisis that has 

inflicted undue hardship on 

Nigerians. Let me reinstate our 

call for increase local refining 

by ensuring that the nation’s 

refineries work at maximum 

capacity. 

“We are equally calling on 

the Federal Government to 

rehabilitate and upgrade all depots 

in the country, while there 

is need to carry out an overhaul 

of all pipeline networks to ease 

distribution and supply of petroleum 

products.” 

The union also advised the 

government to address the issue 

of surrounding the integrity 

of pipelines by repairing and 

replacing damaged pipelines 

to enhance supply of crudes to 

refineries and export terminals 

as well as distribution of refined 

products to all the depots. 

“We have to reinstate that 

unless there is increase in the 

government’s commitment 

not only to maintain but also to 

rehabilitate and repair as well 

as replace ageing and ruptured 

pipelines, there will continue 

to be challenges with the distribution 

and supply of petroleum 

products to all parts of the 

country. 

“This will also negatively 

impact on local refining due 

to inadequate supply of crude 

through the pipelines to the 

refineries. The dream of gas 

to power, and domestic and 

industrial gas development 

policies of the Government will 

be unrealised. 

“The NNPC and security 

agencies should ensure security 

of lives of staff of PPMC/NPSC/ 

SML in oil and gas installations, 

as they are always at the frontline 

of repairing damaged pipelines 

and protect pipelines from 

being vandalised. There should 

be improved surveillance with 

the use of modern technology, 

adequate implementation of 

pipeline right of ways and location 

of security agencies’ offices 

in “black spots” along pipelines,” 

Johnson said. 

VFD Group records 175% 

oversubscription on Debt Note offer 

L-R: Olayide Bamidele, chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servant of Nigerian; Fiyinfoluwa 

Adenike Ogunbanke, permanent secretary, public service office; Olufunmilayo Balogun, permanent 

secretary, office of finance; Folashade Adesoye, head of service, Lagos State Government, and 

Dimeji Olona, general manager, life assurance, LASACO Plc, representing the GM LASACO, during 

the presentation of assurance death benefit to beneficiaries of deceased public servants in Lagos. 

L-R: Jean Phillipe Torres, managing director, Total Nigeria Plc Jay Jay Okocha, brand ambassador, 

Total Nigeria Plc; Umar Mohammed, winner of Total Lubricants Text & Win Promo; Stanislas 

Mittelman, chairman, Total Nigeria Plc, and Adewole Adesua, general manager, sales and 

marketing, Total Nigeria Plc, at the award ceremony of brand new car of Total Lubricants Text & 

Win Promo to the winner in Lagos. 

KELECHI EWUZIE 

VFD Group, a financial 

service focused 

investment group 

based in Lagos has 

recorded a 175% oversubscription 

on its Debt Note product 

offer. 

According to the group, 

it issued fixed rate unsubordinated 

secured Debt Notes 

of N1m only per note to sophisticated 

individual and 

corporate investors. The offer, 

designed to raise N300m in 

one week, closed on February 

16 at N525m representing a 

175% oversubscription. 

Adenrele Omolara, the 

Head of sales at VFD Group, 

said the group thoroughly 

researched the investment 

market and discovered the 

need for a retail-focused, high 

yield and tradeable financial 

instrument promoted and 

issued by a company with an 

impeccable reputation. 

According to her, “The 

excitement exhibited by investors 

towards the offer was 

an indication of the Group’s 

understanding of the market’s 

needs”. 

The Debt Notes are set 

at an interest rate of 19% per 

annum with a one-year tenor. 

They are backed by the issuer’s 

equity portfolio held by 

United Capital Trustees, thus 

giving the Debt Notes a 1:2 

cover ratio. 

Nonso Okpala, Group 

Managing Director (GMD) 

stated “VFD Group’s Debt 

Note affords retail investors 

an opportunity to earn a minimum 

interest of 19% with 

prospect of an enhanced yield 

as a result of the tradability of 

this financial instrument.” 

Based on the product’s 

term sheet, Anchoria Asset 

Management (AAM), will provide 

an Over the Counter 

(OTC) platform for the purpose 

of trading these notes. 

There are also plans to list the 

Debt Notes on FMDQ as this 

is an innovative pilot scheme 

aimed at establishing an active 

OTC market for Debt Notes. 

Okpala further said, “You 

can always count on VFD 

Group to provide leadership 

in product and service innovation 

in the financial sector.

22 

BUSINESS DAY 


Marginal field exercise put on hold as Politics of 

second term for the president Buhari hits up 

Olusola Bello 

Investors are worried 

about lack of information 

on the marginal 

fields bid round which 

they said should have 

been nearing the final stage 

of completion by now, given 

the level of seriousness the 

government attached to the 

exercise mid last year. 

They are more disturbed 

by the fact that activities 

relating to the exercise have 

been relegated to the background 

because of the politics 

of second term for President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

the detriment of the nation’s 

economy. 

Some of the stakeholders 

that spoke to Business- 

Day lamented that the lack of 

schedule programme for the 

exercise has left prospective 

investors more confused now 

than before as they are not getting 

any information even from 

the Department of Petroleum 

Resources (DPR). 

An officer of the Department 

of Petroleum Resources 

(DPR) who however spoke to 

BusinesssDay unofficially said 

the agency has completed all 

the processes that needed to 

be done and ready to conduct 

the exercise anytime the government 

so give the directive 

to do so. 

“We are waiting for the minister 

of petroleum resources 

to tell to go ahead and conduct 

the bid round and until 

that happens we cannot do 

anything. But one thing i can 

assure you is that we ready for 

the exercise,” he said. 

The federal government 

through the Department of Petroleum 

Resources (DPR) had 

last year set the guidelines for 

the marginal oil field bid round 

for 46 oil acreages which was to 

either take place late last year or 

early this year . 

Some of the stakeholders 

are however skeptical about 

the viability of the exercise if 

the Petroleum Industry Bill 

(PIB) is not passed as the fiscal 

regime that would guide the 

operations of marginal fields 

operation are embedded in the 

bill and failure to pass it before 

the licensing round takes 

place could create uncertainty 

regarding how investors could 

operate. 

The prospective investors 

are to pay $300,000 signature 

bonus. 

Abiodun Adesanya, former 

President of Nigerian Association 

of Petroleum Explorationists 

(NAPE ), while reacting to 

this development, said: “We 

have been hearing stories of 

an imminent marginal field 

licensing round, the delay in 

the announcement may not be 

unconnected with the ongoing 

work on the PIB. 

“My guess is that the fiscal 

regime for the new marginal 

field licensing round may not 

be widely different from the 

one used in the last exercise 

and that may have formed the 

basis for what is contained under 

marginal fields in the draft 

PIB presently with the legislators,” 

he said. 

“Therefore to avoid an 

uncertain situation of being 

awarded these fields with the 

fiscal frame work susceptible 

to modification when the bill is 

finally passed, some discretion 

would naturally be expected by 

would-be participants if they 

know what they are doing. A 

way around this is to request 

for some stabilisation clauses 

for protection if the award is 

made before the passage of the 

bill”, he said. 

On whether the financial 

institutions in the country 

would support the exercise, 

Abiopdun Adesanya who is 

also the Managing Consultant 

of Degeconek Nigeria limited 

said he can imagine that some 

financial institutions would still 

participate but it is going to be 

tough to get Nigerian banks 

to fully embrace the funding 

of the development of these 

round of marginal fields in the 

way and manner they did with 

the earlier ones more so if the 

current liquidity in the banking 

sector persist. 

C002D5556 



C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 

23 

Live @ The Stock Exchange 

Top Gainers/Losers as at Friday 23 February 2018 Market Statistics as at Friday 23 February 2018 

GAINERS 

Company Opening Closing Change 

NB N122.9 N130 7.1 

CAP N35 N38 3 

INTBREW N55.95 N57 1.05 

GUARANTY N48 N48.6 0.6 

DANGSUGAR N21.35 N21.7 0.35 

LOSERS 

Company Opening Closing Change 

CCNN N17.7 N16.85 -0.85 

CAVERTON N2.52 N2.4 -0.12 

CONTINSURE N1.58 N1.51 -0.07 

UBA N13 N12.95 -0.05 

TRANSCORP N2.15 N2.11 -0.04 

ASI (Points) 42,570.89 

DEALS (Numbers) 4,356.00 

VOLUME (Numbers) 308,429,272.00 

VALUE (N billion) 6.402 

MARKET CAP (N Trn 15.277 

Shareholders fault CBN on banks’ eligibility for dividend payments 

Stories by 

Iheanyi Nwachukwu 

Shareholders in Nigeria’s 

capital market 

under the umbrella 

of Pragmatic Shareholders 

Association 

of Nigeria (PSAN) faulted the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 

recent directive to banks on 

eligibility for dividend payments. 

Early last week, stakeholders 

and investors in the Nigerian 

financial market woke to a 

frenzy following the release of 

a circular by the Central Bank 

of Nigeria (CBN) titled “Re: 

Internal Capital Generation 

and Dividend Payout Ratio”. 

CBN in the circular to 

banks updated its policy on 

internal capital generation 

and retention policy for Nigerian 

banks. In addition to 

the existing guidelines, an 

additional clause was set for 

banks’ eligibility for dividend 

payments. 

Rising from an emergency 

meeting last Friday at its Ogun 

State headquarters, the shareholders 

who discussed the 

development among other 

things issued a communiqué 

saying that “the policy 

directive of CBN which shortcircuits 

domestic investors’ 

paltry returns on their investments 

remains a major 

setback and disincentive 

towards sustainable internal 

economic growth.” 

Meanwhile, in the communiqué 

signed by its 

national coordinator, Bisi 

Bakare, the shareholders 

accused CBN of “playing 

the class game in most of 

their policies”, stressing that 

“outright barring of challenged 

banks from paying 

dividends amounts to shifting 

the blames to minority 

shareholders”. 

Not only that the shareholders 

urged the National 

Assembly to intervene and 

protect the domestic investing 

public by calling CBN 

to order in what they called 

“kill joy policy directive”, the 

shareholders also threatened 

to challenge the action of the 

CBN in the nation’s courts “if 

the apex bank refuse to rescind 

the policy directive barring 

challenged banks from paying 

dividends”. 

“The contentious banks’ 

bad loans are failure pointers 

and collapsing state of the 

national financial regulatory 

institutions in the proactive 

management of the economy”, 

the shareholders said. They 

also blamed the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (SEC) 

“for abandoning and reneging 

in their corporate responsibilities 

towards investors.” 

“The current focus on 

shareholders dividend toward 

bridging bank bad loans will 

not only impact negatively in 

the nation’s capital market 

but create an added impetus 

for individuals and corporate 

concerns to consciously default 

in their loan obligations”, 

the shareholders said . 

Eagle Global Markets naira platform pushes competitors into catch-up mood 

The revolution Nigerians 

expected in 

trading global markets 

is finally in place 

through the Naira Platform 

provided by one of Africa’s 

most innovative Financial 

Technology (FINTECH) Companies, 

Eagle Global Markets 

(EGM). 

EGM, which added the 

Naira Cloudtrade Platform 

to its existing US Dollar MT4 

platform has succeeded in 

enabling traders access to 

over 1000 global markets financial 

products using our 

local currency. 

As a leading pan African 

brand, EGM provides opportunity 

for its clients to access 

global financial markets. The 

Naira Platform of this multiasset 

derivative firm is the 

latest of its game changers 

seen to force its competitors 

into a catch-up mood. 

“We have two platforms: 

the Naira Cloudtrade and 

then the US Dollar MT4 which 

is the only one other players 

in the industry offer to 

their clients,” Gbite Oduneye, 

Co-Founder, Eagle Global 

Markets said while taking 

some investment journalists 

through the rudiments of 

trading global markets. 

Ranging from interna- 

tional equities, commodities, 

indices and currency 

pairs, traders can through 

EGM naira platform access 

over 1000 financial products 

across the world. This 

includes derivatives of companies 

such as Facebook, 

Google and Snapchat; as 

well as commodities such as 

Crude Oil, Gold and Silver. 

Global market watchers 

had two weeks ago seen one 

of largest drops in the history 

of the Dow Jones as well as 

a rise followed by a drop in 

Gbite Oduneye, co-founder (L) and Temitayo Sanusi, 

director, operations, all of Eagle Global Markets (EGM) 

during the press briefing on trading global markets by EGM. 

The Nigerian Stock 

Exchange (NSE) 

and The Convention 

on Business 

Integrity (CBi) held a certification 

ceremony for 35 

companies and 437 directors 

that made it over the 

70percent threshold for the 

Corporate Governance Rating 

System (CGRS) process. 

The companies were 

awarded the CGRS certification 

while the directors 

were awarded certificates 

for success in the Fiduciary 

Awareness Certification 

Test (FACT), which is a key 

component of the CGRS. 

Yemi Osinbajo, Vice 

President, Federal Republic 

of Nigeria who was represented 

by Chiedu Osakwe, 

an ambassador who is also 

the Nigeria Chief Trade Negotiator/Director 

General 

Office of Trade Negotiation 

delivered the closing remarks. 

The event saw the successful 

companies and 

directors presented with 

certificates confirming their 

CGRS certifications. 

Speaking at the event, 

Soji Apampa, Co-Founder 

oil prices. 

“In times gone by, this will 

constitute engaging conversation 

but now one could 

generate an income from taking 

advantage of these moves 

from the comfort of your mobile 

phone with Naira. EGM 

makes the investing World a 

much smaller place by breaking 

down barriers, making it 

possible for Nigerians to trade 

1000s of financial products 

with Naira”, he said. 

As one of Africa’s most 

innovative financial technology 

companies, providing 

opportunities for 

its clients to make money 

from trading 1000s of financial 

products with 

Naira, no doubt EGM has 

now become preferred 

global local broker. 

Oduneye said, “We have 

experienced account managers 

who guide our clients. 

We are one of the most innovative 

financial technology 

(Fintech) companies in 

Africa. We offer tight spreads, 

Mobile apps: Android and 

Apple; and Fast Trade Execution. 

Our clients are at the 

heart of our business and we 

provide the best client management 

in the industry”. 

“In less than two years 

we have grown our clientelle 

base considerably from a 

mere 500 to 5000 and still 

counting. This is driven by 

our commitment to professionally 

advise and educate 

of our clients. Education is 

at the heart of our business, 

we offer free seminars in 

our Ikoyi office as well as 

our EGM Academy in Ikeja. 

We are looking to open in 

Ibadan in the next quarter 

of this year,” Oduneye said. 

“We enable clients diversify 

their portfolios by taking 

advantage of opportunities 

NSE, CBI recognise 437 individuals, 35 companies for 

passing corporate governance rating assessment 

and Chief Executive Officer, 

CBi said “this is a triumph 

for collective action in the 

fight against corruption and 

unethical practices. I congratulate 

the companies and 

directors being honoured 

and I urge them not to relent 

in their efforts to sustain the 

high level of corporate governance 

that has brought 

them thus far”. 

He noted that the celebration 

was not a destination 

but a continuous process 

that should be consistently 

maintained and further improved 

upon. “I encourage 

other listed companies still 

on this evolutionary process 

to keep at it and conclude 

the process during this new 

review period which is now 

open,” he added. 

Another highlight of the 

event was the launch of the 

Corporate Governance Index 

of the NSE. The Index will 

track the performance of the 

35 CGRS rated companies 

using their market capitalization, 

free float and corporate 

that exist in Global Markets. 

We enable Nigerians earn 

extra income and provide 

jobs for our Introductory 

brokers. We offer the highest 

level of compliance with our 

Financial Conduct Authority 

(FCA) regulated Technology 

partners. We hold all clients 

funds in segregated accounts”, 

he further said. 

“Our plan is to revolutionize 

the sector so that 

global market traders get 

value in what they are doing. 

Now they have seen that it 

is possible to invest or trade 

any of the tradable 1000 

financial instruments across 

the world with our local 

currency,” Oduneye noted. 

Eagle Global Markets not 

only makes trading global 

markets more accessible but 

also address issues such as a 

local currency risk and having 

to contract with foreign 

entities. EGM sets out to 

ensure that online trading 

becomes Nigerian run for 

the Nigerian people. EGM 

educates and nurtures its 

clients into confident selfdirected 

traders who want 

the freedom the company’s 

multi asset, multi device 

trading platform delivers. 

Also speaking at the event, 

Temitayo Sanusi, Director 

governance rating scores. 

The Index will be reviewed 

on a bi-annual basis 

at which point other companies 

that have become 

CGRS rated in the interim 

may be added to the Index 

or companies that have had 

their ratings suspended or 

withdrawn may be removed. 

The Index is expected to be 

an important tool for investors 

keen on investing in well 

governed companies as well 

as corporates eager to distinguish 

themselves on the 

ground of governance. 

Speaking on the newly 

introduced Index, Oscar 

N. Onyema, CEO, Nigerian 

Stock Exchange said, “The 

launch of the CG Index is 

an important milestone to 

strengthening listed companies 

by tracking their 

corporate governance practices. 

This index will increase 

transparency in our market 

and provide investors additional 

data points upon 

which to make sound decisions.” 

Operations, at EGM said, 

“We are constantly working 

towards the highest level of 

compliance possible, ensuring 

proper due diligence is 

always carried out and Know 

Your Customers (KYCs) is 

adhered to”. 

Barbara Awodu Aleshe, 

Sales Manager, EGM said, 

“We guide our clients through 

the market by providing the 

highest level of customer care 

and back office support.” 

Education is very important 

in trading global markets. 

The emotions, sensations or 

psychology of trading are very 

important and go a long way 

in determining success. 

In trading global markets, 

trading psychology and training 

are what most brokers do 

not impact on their clients. 

“We have one of the best 

education facilities in the 

country. Education is at the 

heart of what we do, we offer 

free courses at our office in 

Ikoyi and Trading academy 

in Ikeja to all levels of traders. 

From clients that have 

never traded before to expert 

traders. 

We equipped them so 

they can earn from global 

markets whilst they sleep”, 

said Yetunde Shogo, another 

sales manager at EGM.


CEO 

INTERVIEW 

Interview with Private Sector Leaders 

‘Additional investment capital will flow into Nigerian power 

market if right policies and enabling environment are in place’ 

RUSSELL STOKES is the President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Power and a Senior Vice President of GE as of June 2017. In this interview with 

FRANK UZUEGBUNAM, Editor, West Africa Energy Intelligence, he spoke about the company’s strategy on technology, solutions and services across the 

entire energy value chain from the point of generation to consumption and GE’s aspirations for Nigeria’s power sector amongst other issues. Excerpts: 

This is your first visit to Nigeria 

as newly appointed global CEO 

of GE Power Division. Why you 

here, and what are your key 

interests in the region? 

I have been coming to Africa for many 

years now while I was leading various other 

businesses within GE, so Nigeria is not new to 

me and I am very excited to be back. As the 

CEO of the GE Power business, my interests 

are primarily to mobilize GE’s support for the 

growth of the power sector around the globe. 

I took up this role in the middle of 2017 but 

before that I was leading the Energy Connections 

business which we have now merged 

into one consolidated power business to 

ensure we address the full scope of the electricity 

value network (EVN). All this has also 

given me perspective, not just around power 

generation that comes along with the power 

business, but also trying to understand how 

we transmit and distribute this power so that 

it gets to people. 

We often talk about how a billion people 

around the globe do not have access to 

power; well, 600 million of these people are 

here on this continent. Our goal is to have 

a better understanding of what we can do; 

to work with partners - public and private 

partners - to be able to give power to more 

and more people. This is something we focus 

on a lot. I started out this trip in Ghana and 

we are now in Nigeria. We will go on to visit 

Angola and South Africa to spend time with 

our partners and customers in these respective 

countries. 

So far, what is your key take-away when 

you look at the region and basically 

Nigeria on these services? 

It is quite a different scenario because as I 

go around the globe, country by country, my 

context and observations differ even though 

the aspirations for universal access to power 

is the same everywhere. Developing countries 

are embracing innovative technologies 

that will guarantee faster, more efficient and 

sustainable solutions to energy challenges. A 

good example is how GE’s trailer-mounted 

power solutions are enabling speed in the 

deployment of power plants in a matter of 

months rather than years. There are now a 

growing number of references on the continent 

that we are extremely proud of. This 

is one example of how GE is powering the 

future. 

There is a significant amount of generation 

capacity available in Nigeria that is just 

stranded. It has become very important, 

from my perspective, that there is a lot more 

attention and more investment needed in 

the transmission networks and distribution 

infrastructure in the country. There is an urgent 

need to look at solutions to evacuate the 

power that is available so that more people 

can access it. 

What do you see as the challenges and 

the potentials that we have in Nigeria’s 

power sector and how does that impact 

on the current state of power infrastructure? 

Let me start with the potential of the sector. 

According to the World Bank, approximately 

80 million Nigerians are yet to be connected 

to the grid. This means that demand for 

electricity will undoubtedly increase as the 

population rises and the economy expands. 

Secondly, privatisation of the power sector 

in Nigeria, though incomplete, as well as the 

on-going reforms in the country are critical 

steps in the right direction and deserve 

praise because these have really opened the 

market. 

Nonetheless, over the last few years, we 

have also seen that the sector has continued 

to struggle with acute liquidity challenges. 

Operators inclusive of Generation companies, 

Gas suppliers, and Distribution companies 

are facing a lot of challenges around 

liquidity, under-utilized capacity, underinvestment 

in critical CAPEX, and pending 

regulatory issues yet to be addressed 

around tariffs and payment consistency. 

Investments for growth in the sector cannot 

rely on government solely. These need to be 

mobilized and sourced from a broader set of 

partners, developers, and financiers to drive 

projects forward. I think it is going to be absolutely 

what is needed here in Nigeria based 

on what we have seen over the past couple of 

years and what I see on this trip now. 

There is also the capacity of the transmission 

network to evacuate the existing power. I 

have seen across many countries in the continent, 

that there has been historical under-investment in 

transmission and distribution networks. Weak and 

aging grid infrastructure will only lead to blackouts 

and load shedding. Developed countries have invested 

in a full suite of solutions including generation 

solutions covering Electrical balance of Plant, 

Energy management, Turnkey systems, Automation 

and Control, Asset management, Distribution 

Automation and digital solutions that have helped 

them optimize their infrastructure and Nigeria 

and many other countries on the continent need


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

25 

RUSSELL STOKES 

President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Power and 

Senior Vice President of GE as of June 2017 

to do the same to guarantee availability of power. 

You mentioned something that is of interest to 

me, that is power evacuation. We all know that Nigeria 

has the capacity to generate 10,000 megawatts 

but we hardly evacuate up to 5,000 megawatts, so 

how can GE Power support Nigeria in its bid to 

optimally evacuate at least what we generate? 

GE’s Grid solutions business is really focused 

on transmission and distribution capabilities. We 

enable utilities and industry to efficiently manage 

electricity from the point of generation to the point 

of consumption with low, medium, high and ultrahigh 

voltage electrical equipment and systems that 

turn the world on. 

Our teams integrate leading technology products 

and solutions to solve customer problems, 

making energy safer and more reliable through 

our ability to generate, transmit, and distribute 

electricity. We provide not just hardware but a 

wide range of software platforms, energy management 

systems and distribution management 

systems that enable the flow of electrons. We also 

continue to invest in distributed energy resource 

management systems that allow people to better 

integrate different sources of power generation in 

to the grid. So, we have all these solutions that we 

can provide to help solve some of the transmission 

and distribution challenges. 

In other words, you have technology that can 

help Nigeria mitigate technical loses? 

Absolutely. You are aware that GE has had a longstanding 

country to company collaboration with 

the government which translated into an MOU on 

power. In recent times, we have adopted the “endto-end 

approach” with regards to dealing with the 

challenges of the entire power value-chain. This 

holistic approach consists of identifying where 

the bottlenecks are in each segment of the power 

value chain and targeting sustainable interventions 

to those segments. This covers generation, 

transmission, distribution, software and even 

capacity building. 

We all know that dealing with bottlenecks 

involves investments. What are the critical 

factors that can help sustain a high level of 

investment in Nigeria’s power sector? 

Contrary to general opinion, there is a lot of financial 

interest in Nigeria’s power sector. Most of the 

development agencies have indicated significant 

interest and commitment to the sector. There are 

specific processes to deploy that capital. I think 

what needs to happen is for an acceleration of the 

process, regardless of whether it is through a public 

tender or bilateral government-to-government 

agreement. 

So do you think that it is the government 

or the private sector that should take the 

driving seat in pushing the investment in 

Nigeria? 

No, I do not believe it is a question of drivers 

and passengers. The role of government is very 

critical because as you know, this is a very regulated 

industry. Not only from the point of setting 

policies but in being the primary mobilizers of 

capital into the sector based upon some of the 

policies and actions that government needs to 

take to enhance investment climate. The scale of 

the opportunities and challenges goes beyond 

the resources of government alone. As you know, 

the sector was partially privatised a few years ago 

and all that investment was from private capital. 

The additional investment capital will flow into 

the Nigerian power market if the right policies 

and enabling environment are in place. Private 

sector players are intent on mobilising, investing 

and modernising their infrastructure for more 

efficient and reliable supply of power to Nigeria. 

What are the other ways that GE can help 

to optimise assets and reduce downtime of 

systems? 

Let me give some context here. The current 

installed base of power in Nigeria is not being 

made available as they are limited by very clear 

technical bottlenecks. As part of the end-to-end 

solution we spoke about earlier, GE’s total plant 

management solutions portfolio demonstrates 

our strength as a single service provider that understands 

the full “plant-as-a-system” impact. We 

can offer installation, maintenance, repair 

and upgrade activities and our excellent 

services capabilities enables us to optimize 

the performance and long-term value of the 

power plant to ensure high efficiency for the 

units throughout the plant’s life cycle. 

Today, our Power services team is offering 

total plant management solutions and 

guaranteeing the flexibility and availability 

of over 100 GE units across the country and 

have just signed an agreement with SPDC for 

the Afam VI power plant. The local team has 

also successfully carried out their first flange 

to flange installation in the region at the 

Transcorp power plant adding a significant 

115MW of power to the grid. 

Every day we engage with the government 

and relevant stakeholders in the sector to 

drive understanding around this end to end 

approach. 

Is that part of the MOU that GE signed 

with the Federal Government committing 

to generate additional 10,000 MW 

over the next 10 years? 

This is a clear demonstration of our followthrough 

to that commitment and we are very 

proud of the fact that in terms of commitment 

to this country even in times like these, 

which are quite challenging, we have been 

unwavering. As we focus on stranded generation 

and incremental power, we can talk to 

you about any number of projects in various 

stages of development. So, we are all in. 

What do you think should be the best 

approach for Nigeria to solve its power 

problem? 

Here are a couple of thoughts - I think there 

should be an appreciation for the role that 

public-private partners can play. It would 

mean that the Federal Government ensures 

that projects are executed and delivered. I 

think there should be an appreciation that beyond 

the additional investment in generation 

in Nigeria, one must be thinking about how 

to evacuate the electrons to people that need 

them. This means that transmission and distribution 

must be part of the overall strategy. 

I think that there is a clear set of ideas and 

actions that the sector believes GE can bring 

but which we do not believe by any stretch of 

the imagination that we can do on our own, 

which is why we are here. We are talking to 

customers and our partners, to understand 

how we can collaborate better and how 

together we can continue to move the vision 

forward; bringing power to as many 

people as do not have access to power here 

in Nigeria. 

Do you see any place for renewable in 

all this? 

Yes, I do. I see around the globe, everyone 

is working through what is the appropriate 

energy mix and a lot of that is predicated on 

how countries set up overall policy around 

emissions. The GE Power business provides 

key equipment for solar installations so we 

recognize the place of renewables and how 

it is growing in the energy mix of countries 


What is the update on the MOU signed 

with the Northern Governors on solar 

project? 

We signed the MOU with the Northern State 

Governors, five governors all together and 

that is a good example of our flexibility and 

resourcefulness. We have two active projects, 

Niger and Borno States around 100MW each. 

What we tried to do is to bring in developers 

that would support them as technical partners 

and some of the technical assessment 

is underway both in Niger and Borno. That 

is one example of how we are meeting the 

requirements of the country from the renewable 

perspective. 

You may recall that in December, we 

signed with Mainstream for the rehabilitation 

of the biggest hydro power plant in the 

country. We are very proud that we are going 

to be helping them deliver 80MW to the grid 

by rehabilitating that site. We have localized 

some of GE’s global capabilities right here 

in Nigeria. We have built the supply chain 

and GE’s footprint in Nigeria continues to 

grow. I think it is clear that GE’s continuous 

commitment to Nigeria has never wavered. 

What could be the deal breaker, what 

could make GE not actualise these 

MOUs? 

We know we must stay in partnership with 

government as this is very important. They 

have been very supportive. I do not see anything 

to worry about in terms of our ability 

to continue with the partnership we have 

with Nigeria. Of course, there is a need to accelerate. 

Everyone knows funding is another 

issue and we have spoken extensively about 

it. And of course, we will do our part where 

possible to help mobilise the capital that is 

required for Nigeria. 

Five years from now, where do you 

see Nigeria’s power sector and GE in 

Nigeria? 

I am an eternal optimist when it comes to 

Nigeria. You must remember that this is one 

of the biggest economies and markets for GE 

in the continent. GE has nearly 800 people 

here. We have invested heavily in our supplychain 

and we have the fullest portfolio of GE 

businesses in Nigeria. With respect to power, 

we are confident that this is a market we are 

going to be actively participating in for many 

years because the opportunity is huge. We 

share in the aspirations of Nigerians in terms 

of increasing access to power. I think the 

country needs companies like GE to really 

get it done. And I think it has been a very 

positive relationship in terms of how we can 

work together. 

From the global perspective, where do 

you see the place of Nigeria in GE’s 

operations? 

This year, I have travelled to two regions only; 

Africa is the second one I have visited, so it 

is obvious that I believe in the potential of 

Nigeria. Of course, being one of the largest 

economies, the potential is enormous. Access 

to electricity is important for a growing 

economy to be able to unleash the potential 

of businesses, families, and industries and 

you must really believe in it. Therefore, we 

continue to invest in the team, as well as 

continuing to work with various partners to 

deliver the desired energy outcomes for the 

country. GE will stay committed. 

Profile: 

Russell Stokes is the President and Chief 

Executive Officer of GE Power and a Senior 

Vice President of GE as of June 2017. 

In this role, he is responsible for leading 

the company’s strategy on technology, 

solutions and services across the entire 

energy value chain from the point of 

generation to consumption. 

Russell joined GE in 1997 in the Financial 

Management Program. 

Prior to leading Power, Russell was the 

President and Chief Executive Officer of 

GE Energy Connections, the electrification, 

grid and controls business of GE. 

Before that, he served as the President 

and Chief Executive Officer of GE Transportation, 

a global leader in rail, mining 

and marine industries. Russell has also 

held numerous leadership positions in 

finance, operations and services within 

GE Transportation, GE Aviation and GE 

Lighting. 

Russell plays an active role in the Atlanta 

community. He is a member of the Metro 

Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Executive 

Committee, the Atlanta Committee for 

Progress, Usher’s New Look Board, the 

Atlanta Junior Achievement Executive 

Committee, and the board of The Commerce 

Club, Atlanta, GA. Russell graduated 

from Cleveland State University with 

a degree in finance and completed GE’s 

Financial Management Program.


CEO 

INTERVIEW 

Interview with Private Sector Leaders 

‘Additional investment capital will flow into Nigerian power 

market if right policies and enabling environment are in place’ 

RUSSELL STOKES is the President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Power and a Senior Vice President of GE as of June 2017. In this interview with 

FRANK UZUEGBUNAM, Editor, West Africa Energy Intelligence, he spoke about the company’s strategy on technology, solutions and services across the 

entire energy value chain from the point of generation to consumption and GE’s aspirations for Nigeria’s power sector amongst other issues. Excerpts: 

This is your first visit to Nigeria 

as newly appointed global CEO 

of GE Power Division. Why you 

here, and what are your key 

interests in the region? 

I have been coming to Africa for many 

years now while I was leading various other 

businesses within GE, so Nigeria is not new to 

me and I am very excited to be back. As the 

CEO of the GE Power business, my interests 

are primarily to mobilize GE’s support for the 

growth of the power sector around the globe. 

I took up this role in the middle of 2017 but 

before that I was leading the Energy Connections 

business which we have now merged 

into one consolidated power business to 

ensure we address the full scope of the electricity 

value network (EVN). All this has also 

given me perspective, not just around power 

generation that comes along with the power 

business, but also trying to understand how 

we transmit and distribute this power so that 

it gets to people. 

We often talk about how a billion people 

around the globe do not have access to 

power; well, 600 million of these people are 

here on this continent. Our goal is to have 

a better understanding of what we can do; 

to work with partners - public and private 

partners - to be able to give power to more 

and more people. This is something we focus 

on a lot. I started out this trip in Ghana and 

we are now in Nigeria. We will go on to visit 

Angola and South Africa to spend time with 

our partners and customers in these respective 

countries. 

So far, what is your key take-away when 

you look at the region and basically 

Nigeria on these services? 

It is quite a different scenario because as I 

go around the globe, country by country, my 

context and observations differ even though 

the aspirations for universal access to power 

is the same everywhere. Developing countries 

are embracing innovative technologies 

that will guarantee faster, more efficient and 

sustainable solutions to energy challenges. A 

good example is how GE’s trailer-mounted 

power solutions are enabling speed in the 

deployment of power plants in a matter of 

months rather than years. There are now a 

growing number of references on the continent 

that we are extremely proud of. This 

is one example of how GE is powering the 

future. 

There is a significant amount of generation 

capacity available in Nigeria that is just 

stranded. It has become very important, 

from my perspective, that there is a lot more 

attention and more investment needed in 

the transmission networks and distribution 

infrastructure in the country. There is an urgent 

need to look at solutions to evacuate the 

power that is available so that more people 

can access it. 

What do you see as the challenges and 

the potentials that we have in Nigeria’s 

power sector and how does that impact 

on the current state of power infrastructure? 

Let me start with the potential of the sector. 

According to the World Bank, approximately 

80 million Nigerians are yet to be connected 

to the grid. This means that demand for 

electricity will undoubtedly increase as the 

population rises and the economy expands. 

Secondly, privatisation of the power sector 

in Nigeria, though incomplete, as well as the 

on-going reforms in the country are critical 

steps in the right direction and deserve 

praise because these have really opened the 

market. 

Nonetheless, over the last few years, we 

have also seen that the sector has continued 

to struggle with acute liquidity challenges. 

Operators inclusive of Generation companies, 

Gas suppliers, and Distribution companies 

are facing a lot of challenges around 

liquidity, under-utilized capacity, underinvestment 

in critical CAPEX, and pending 

regulatory issues yet to be addressed 

around tariffs and payment consistency. 

Investments for growth in the sector cannot 

rely on government solely. These need to be 

mobilized and sourced from a broader set of 

partners, developers, and financiers to drive 

projects forward. I think it is going to be absolutely 

what is needed here in Nigeria based 

on what we have seen over the past couple of 

years and what I see on this trip now. 

There is also the capacity of the transmission 

network to evacuate the existing power. I 

have seen across many countries in the continent, 

that there has been historical under-investment in 

transmission and distribution networks. Weak and 

aging grid infrastructure will only lead to blackouts 

and load shedding. Developed countries have invested 

in a full suite of solutions including generation 

solutions covering Electrical balance of Plant, 

Energy management, Turnkey systems, Automation 

and Control, Asset management, Distribution 

Automation and digital solutions that have helped 

them optimize their infrastructure and Nigeria 

and many other countries on the continent need 


to do the same to guarantee availability of power. 

You mentioned something that is of interest to 

me, that is power evacuation. We all know that Nigeria 

has the capacity to generate 10,000 megawatts 

but we hardly evacuate up to 5,000 megawatts, so 

how can GE Power support Nigeria in its bid to 

optimally evacuate at least what we generate? 

GE’s Grid solutions business is really focused 

on transmission and distribution capabilities. We 

enable utilities and industry to efficiently manage 

electricity from the point of generation to the point 

of consumption with low, medium, high and ultrahigh 

voltage electrical equipment and systems that 

turn the world on. 

Our teams integrate leading technology products 

and solutions to solve customer problems, 

making energy safer and more reliable through 

our ability to generate, transmit, and distribute 

electricity. We provide not just hardware but a 

wide range of software platforms, energy management 

systems and distribution management 

systems that enable the flow of electrons. We also 

continue to invest in distributed energy resource 

management systems that allow people to better 

integrate different sources of power generation in 

to the grid. So, we have all these solutions that we 

can provide to help solve some of the transmission 

and distribution challenges. 

In other words, you have technology that can 

help Nigeria mitigate technical loses? 

Absolutely. You are aware that GE has had a longstanding 

country to company collaboration with 

the government which translated into an MOU on 

power. In recent times, we have adopted the “endto-end 

approach” with regards to dealing with the 

challenges of the entire power value-chain. This 

holistic approach consists of identifying where 

the bottlenecks are in each segment of the power 

value chain and targeting sustainable interventions 

to those segments. This covers generation, 

transmission, distribution, software and even 

capacity building. 

We all know that dealing with bottlenecks 

involves investments. What are the critical 

factors that can help sustain a high level of 

investment in Nigeria’s power sector? 

Contrary to general opinion, there is a lot of financial 

interest in Nigeria’s power sector. Most of the 

development agencies have indicated significant 

interest and commitment to the sector. There are 

specific processes to deploy that capital. I think 

what needs to happen is for an acceleration of the 

process, regardless of whether it is through a public 

tender or bilateral government-to-government 

agreement. 

So do you think that it is the government 

or the private sector that should take the 

driving seat in pushing the investment in 

Nigeria? 

No, I do not believe it is a question of drivers 

and passengers. The role of government is very 

critical because as you know, this is a very regulated 

industry. Not only from the point of setting 

policies but in being the primary mobilizers of 

capital into the sector based upon some of the 

policies and actions that government needs to 

take to enhance investment climate. The scale of 

the opportunities and challenges goes beyond 

the resources of government alone. As you know, 

the sector was partially privatised a few years ago 

and all that investment was from private capital. 

The additional investment capital will flow into 

the Nigerian power market if the right policies 

and enabling environment are in place. Private 

sector players are intent on mobilising, investing 

and modernising their infrastructure for more 

efficient and reliable supply of power to Nigeria. 

What are the other ways that GE can help 

to optimise assets and reduce downtime of 

systems? 

Let me give some context here. The current 

installed base of power in Nigeria is not being 

made available as they are limited by very clear 

technical bottlenecks. As part of the end-to-end 

solution we spoke about earlier, GE’s total plant 

management solutions portfolio demonstrates 

our strength as a single service provider that understands 

the full “plant-as-a-system” impact. We 

can offer installation, maintenance, repair 

and upgrade activities and our excellent 

services capabilities enables us to optimize 

the performance and long-term value of the 

power plant to ensure high efficiency for the 

units throughout the plant’s life cycle. 

Today, our Power services team is offering 

total plant management solutions and 

guaranteeing the flexibility and availability 

of over 100 GE units across the country and 

have just signed an agreement with SPDC for 

the Afam VI power plant. The local team has 

also successfully carried out their first flange 

to flange installation in the region at the 

Transcorp power plant adding a significant 

115MW of power to the grid. 

Every day we engage with the government 

and relevant stakeholders in the sector to 

drive understanding around this end to end 

approach. 

Is that part of the MOU that GE signed 

with the Federal Government committing 

to generate additional 10,000 MW 

over the next 10 years? 

This is a clear demonstration of our followthrough 

to that commitment and we are very 

proud of the fact that in terms of commitment 

to this country even in times like these, 

which are quite challenging, we have been 

unwavering. As we focus on stranded generation 

and incremental power, we can talk to 

you about any number of projects in various 

stages of development. So, we are all in. 

What do you think should be the best 

approach for Nigeria to solve its power 

problem? 

Here are a couple of thoughts - I think there 

should be an appreciation for the role that 

public-private partners can play. It would 

mean that the Federal Government ensures 

that projects are executed and delivered. I 

think there should be an appreciation that beyond 

the additional investment in generation 

in Nigeria, one must be thinking about how 

to evacuate the electrons to people that need 

them. This means that transmission and distribution 

must be part of the overall strategy. 

I think that there is a clear set of ideas and 

actions that the sector believes GE can bring 

but which we do not believe by any stretch of 

the imagination that we can do on our own, 

C002D5556 

RUSSELL STOKES 

President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Power and 

Senior Vice President of GE as of June 2017 

which is why we are here. We are talking to 

customers and our partners, to understand 

how we can collaborate better and how 

together we can continue to move the vision 

forward; bringing power to as many 

people as do not have access to power here 

in Nigeria. 

Do you see any place for renewable in 

all this? 

Yes, I do. I see around the globe, everyone 

is working through what is the appropriate 

energy mix and a lot of that is predicated on 

how countries set up overall policy around 

emissions. The GE Power business provides 

key equipment for solar installations so we 

recognize the place of renewables and how 

it is growing in the energy mix of countries 


What is the update on the MOU signed 

with the Northern Governors on solar 

project? 

We signed the MOU with the Northern State 

Governors, five governors all together and 

that is a good example of our flexibility and 

resourcefulness. We have two active projects, 

Niger and Borno States around 100MW each. 

What we tried to do is to bring in developers 

that would support them as technical partners 

and some of the technical assessment 

is underway both in Niger and Borno. That 

is one example of how we are meeting the 

requirements of the country from the renewable 

perspective. 

You may recall that in December, we 

signed with Mainstream for the rehabilitation 

of the biggest hydro power plant in the 

country. We are very proud that we are going 

to be helping them deliver 80MW to the grid 

by rehabilitating that site. We have localized 

some of GE’s global capabilities right here 

in Nigeria. We have built the supply chain 

and GE’s footprint in Nigeria continues to 

grow. I think it is clear that GE’s continuous 

commitment to Nigeria has never wavered. 

What could be the deal breaker, what 

could make GE not actualise these 

MOUs? 

We know we must stay in partnership with 

government as this is very important. They 

have been very supportive. I do not see anything 

to worry about in terms of our ability 

to continue with the partnership we have 

with Nigeria. Of course, there is a need to accelerate. 

Everyone knows funding is another 

issue and we have spoken extensively about 

it. And of course, we will do our part where 

possible to help mobilise the capital that is 

required for Nigeria. 

Five years from now, where do you 

see Nigeria’s power sector and GE in 

Nigeria? 

I am an eternal optimist when it comes to 

Nigeria. You must remember that this is one 

of the biggest economies and markets for GE 

in the continent. GE has nearly 800 people 

BUSINESS DAY 

25 

here. We have invested heavily in our supplychain 

and we have the fullest portfolio of GE 

businesses in Nigeria. With respect to power, 

we are confident that this is a market we are 

going to be actively participating in for many 

years because the opportunity is huge. We 

share in the aspirations of Nigerians in terms 

of increasing access to power. I think the 

country needs companies like GE to really 

get it done. And I think it has been a very 

positive relationship in terms of how we can 

work together. 

From the global perspective, where do 

you see the place of Nigeria in GE’s 

operations? 

This year, I have travelled to two regions only; 

Africa is the second one I have visited, so it 

is obvious that I believe in the potential of 

Nigeria. Of course, being one of the largest 

economies, the potential is enormous. Access 

to electricity is important for a growing 

economy to be able to unleash the potential 

of businesses, families, and industries and 

you must really believe in it. Therefore, we 

continue to invest in the team, as well as 

continuing to work with various partners to 

deliver the desired energy outcomes for the 

country. GE will stay committed. 

Profile: 

Russell Stokes is the President and Chief 

Executive Officer of GE Power and a Senior 

Vice President of GE as of June 2017. 

In this role, he is responsible for leading 

the company’s strategy on technology, 

solutions and services across the entire 

energy value chain from the point of 

generation to consumption. 

Russell joined GE in 1997 in the Financial 

Management Program. 

Prior to leading Power, Russell was the 

President and Chief Executive Officer of 

GE Energy Connections, the electrification, 

grid and controls business of GE. 

Before that, he served as the President 

and Chief Executive Officer of GE Transportation, 

a global leader in rail, mining 

and marine industries. Russell has also 

held numerous leadership positions in 

finance, operations and services within 

GE Transportation, GE Aviation and GE 

Lighting. 

Russell plays an active role in the Atlanta 

community. He is a member of the Metro 

Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Executive 

Committee, the Atlanta Committee for 

Progress, Usher’s New Look Board, the 

Atlanta Junior Achievement Executive 

Committee, and the board of The Commerce 

Club, Atlanta, GA. Russell graduated 

from Cleveland State University with 

a degree in finance and completed GE’s 

Financial Management Program.

26 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 Monday 26 February 2018 

REAL SECTOR WATCH 

Manufacturers make N4trn 

investment in 54 months 

...as inventory of unsold goods stands at N160bn 

L-R: Toki Mabogunje, deputy president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Babatunde Paul Ruwase, president of LCCI; Yemi Osinbajo, vice president 

of Nigeria; Michael Olawale-Cole, vice president of LCCI; and Agnes Shobajo, vice president of LCCI, during LCCI’s courtesy visit to the vice president in Abuja recently 

ODINAKA ANUDU 

Manufacturing 

investments from 

January 2013 to 

June 2017 stood 

at N4.12 trillion, 

according to data coming from 

the Manufacturers Association of 

Nigeria (MAN). 

The cumulative investments 

in the 54-month period indicate 

the level of contributions made 

by Nigerian manufacturers to the 

economy. 

Meanwhile, inventory of unsold 

finished goods in the manufacturing 

sector rose in the first half (HI) of 2017 

to N159.59 billion, from 54.93 billion 

recorded in the corresponding 

period of 2016, indicating N104.66 

billion or 190.5 percent increase 

over the period. 

This also signifies N124.17 

billion or 350.6 percent jump when 

compared with N35.42 reported in 

the second half of 2016. 

“The increase in inventory of 

manufactured finished products 

was attributed to poor sales 

particularly in food, beverage and 

tobacco, non-metallic mineral 

products, and motor vehicle and 

miscellaneous assembly,” MAN’s 

report says. 

Sectoral analysis shows that 30.8 

percent of total inventory (N159.59 

billion), that is N49.13 billion, was 

recorded in the food, beverage 

and tobacco group. Also, 22.3 

percent was reported in the nonmetallic 

mineral products, while 

17.05 percent was observed in 

motor vehicle and miscellaneous 

assembly group in the review 

period. 

Inventory of unsold finished 

goods in food, beverage & tobacco 

sector increased to N49.13 billion 

in H1 of 2017, from N4.01 billion 

recorded in the corresponding 

period of 2016, indicating a N45.12 

billion increase over the period. 

It also increased by N43.12 billion 

when compared with N6.01 billion 

recorded in the preceding half. 

Inter-zonal analysis shows 

that 41.6 percent (N66.36 billion) 

inventory of unsold manufactured 

products was recorded in Ogun 

zone. Thirty-six percent (N57.39 

billion) was reported in Ikeja, while 

9.6 percent (N15.26 billion) was 

noted in Apapa zone. These three 

zones (Ogun, Ikeja and Apapa) also 

recorded the highest production 

value in the period under review. 

Inventory in Ogun stood at N66.36 

billion in the period under review, 

from N10.87 billion recorded in the 

corresponding period of 2016. This 

indicates a N55.49 billion increase 

over the period. It also increased 

by N60.29 billion when compared 

with N6.07 billion recorded in the 

preceding half. 

In order to reduce inventory of 

unfinished goods, MAN wants the 

Federal Government to monitor 

and enforce the recent Executive 

Order 003 on patronage of madein-Nigerian 

products in ministries, 

departments and agencies (MDAs). 

The association wants further 

construct a margin of preference 

(preferably 30 percent), which 

will be applied by MDAs in their 

procurement processes. 

It urges the state and local 

governments to embrace patronage 

of made-in-Nigeria products by 

toeing the footsteps of the Federal 

Government. 

“It is important to sustain, 

monitor and enforce that the 

Executive Order on micro, small 

and medium enterprises. There 

is a need to create a sustainable 

platform through which Nigeria’s 

general public will be continuously 

educated on the need to jettison the 

current penchant for foreign goods 

and patronize locally manufactured 

products,” MAN advises. 

The association calls for 

close monitoring of smuggling, 

adulteration and counterfeiting 

activities in the country with stricter 

penalty on those found culpable of 

the offences. 

MAN pledges support for SON’s fight against fake products 

The Manufacturers Association 

of Nigeria (MAN) says 

it will continue to support 

the Standards Organisation 

of Nigeria (SON)’s fight against 

fake and sub-standard products. 

Similarly, the SON has read riot 

act on adulterators of lubricants, 

warning them to desist from such 

unscrupulous activity to avoid 

prosecution. 

Speaking at a sensitisation 

workshop organised by SON in 

Yola, Adamawa State capital recently, 

Ahmed Jarma, chairman, 

North- East zone of MAN, said 

there was a need for collaboration 

between MAN and SON to tackle 

the influx of substandard products 

into the country. 

According to Jarma, the effects 

of substandard products in the 

country could be so devastating 

that only mutual collaborations 

could stop it. 

“Substandard products are 

everybody’s enemy, yet people 

engage in peddling them for selfish 

economic gains at the expense of 

national and individual economic 

interest. 

“It is only all of us as patriotic 

Nigerians that can collectively put 

a halt to this trend on both domestic 

and imported substandard 

..as SON reads riot act on faking of lubricants 

products,” he said. 

Jarma noted that the objectives 

of MAN and the functions of 

SON indicated that both had the 

common goal of formulating and 

promoting policies that specifically 

promoted a healthy industrial development 

in the country for stable 

economic growth. 

Commending SON ACT 2015, 

the manufacturer said: “The Act 

sets out to sanitise the nation’s 

industrial, commercial, business 

and market place of substandard 

products. It is in tandem with the 

economic diversification, economic 

growth and recovery, industrial 

and agricultural revolution 

programme of the federal government. 

Therefore, using the instrumentality 

of the ACT, Nigeria could 

attain economic development via 

standardisation, quality assurance 

and control as well as monitoring 

and compliance”. 

Speaking earlier at the forum, 

Osita Aboloma, SON’s directorgeneral, 

represented by Sunday 

Galadima, Adamawa State’s coordinator 

of SON, assured stakeholders 

that the regulatory agency 

remained unrelenting in the antisubstandard 

products battle. 

“Within the last few months, 

we have confiscated fake and substandard 

products worth over N300 

billion across the country. We have 

since embarked on arraignment 

and trial at the various courts- of 

some of the suspects linked with 

the impounded goods”. 

Meanwhile at another meeting 

with the Lubricant Producers Association 

of Nigeria last Wednesday 

in Lagos, Aboloma charged 

lubricant dealers to leverage the 

growing auto industry, pointing 

out that the industry was critical 

to Nigeria’s industrialisation drive. 

He read riot act to unscrupulous 

dealers faking genuine products 

and deceiving unsuspecting consumers 

to desist from that, as the 

SON had given the agency prosecutorial 

powers. 

“SON will not sit back and 

watch some unscrupulous people 

threaten the life of the industry. We 

will not sit back and watch these 

people pull down the investment of 

established brands. As long as you 

are law abiding, we will be there to 

protect you,” he said. 

He urged all stakeholders to 

always consult SON for minimum 

requirements of the Nigerian Industrial 

Standards (NIS) in order 

to produce in line with global 

standards. 

“We cannot do it alone and we 

need your assistance. The standards 

are there and they have been 

brought at par with international 

best practice. We will sit down and 

critically look at challenges you 

have now and fashion out a way 

to deal with them collectively and 

decisively,” Aboloma told lubricant 

makers. 

Mustapha Ado, chairman/CEO 

of Ammasco International Limited, 

said the industry was faced with 

a number of challenges, ranging 

from adulteration to faking of established 

brands, tasking SON to 

address the issue head-on.


C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 27 

REAL SECTOR WATCH 

R-L:Wale Adegbite, chairman, Ogun State branch of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); Bimbola Ashiru, Ogun State 

commissioner for commerce and industry; Babi Subair, special adviser on One-Stop-Shop and Jonathan Onajobi, permanent secretary 

of the Ministry of Trade at the 12th quarterly meeting of MAN and Ogun State government in Abeokuta weekend. Pic by Razaq Ayinla 

UK targets bigger real sector 

investments in Nigeria 

David Ibemere 

Exciting days 

lie ahead, as 

the British 

government says 

Nigeria remains 

a top priority on its push 

to increase more direct 

investment into Africa, 

and talks have already 

begun with the Ministry 

of Industry, Trade and 

Investment to achieve the 

target. 

The UK is interested in 

all sectors of the economy, 

but more importantly in 

Nigeria’s burgeoning real 

sector. 

Laure Beaufils, deputy 

British high commissioner 

said weekend, at an 

advocacy roundtable 

organised in Lagos by the 

Nigerian-British Chamber 

of Commerce(NBCC), 

entitled ‘The Ease of Doing 

Business in Nigeria’, that the 

government was starting a 

…puts Nigeria top on investments into Africa 

new project called ‘Overseas 

Direct Investment(ODI)’, 

specifically driven to 

promote more British- 

Nigeria trade. 

“The United Kingdom, 

the UK Trade & Investment, 

in collaboration, is working 

closely with Nigerian 

Investment Promotion 

Commission and other 

bodies to increase UK 

investment in Nigeria,” 

Beaufils said. 

BusinessDay checks 

on UK Office of National 

Statistics show that as of 

third quarter (Q3) of 2017, 

Nigeria exported goods 

valued at £17 million to the 

UK, while the import from 

the UK to Nigeria stood 

at £134 million. However, 

Beaufils stated top British 

companies already had 

deep footprints in Nigeria, 

importing and exporting 

various products. 

“In the coming years 

there will be positive growth 

figures on trade volume 

between Nigeria and the 

UK, as the commission is 

ready to champion various 

programs that will lead to a 

free, fair and inclusive trade 

with mutual benefit. 

“We are very ready 

to improve on trade 

relationship with Nigeria, 

and help attract U.K 

investors into Nigeria’s 

capital market, Nigerian 

Stock Exchange.” 

Beaufils recalled that 

the British Government 

on Feb. 9, through its 

export credit agency, 

UK Export Finance 

(UKEF), said it would 

accept naira payments 

from Nigerian business 

owners trading with the 

UK. She said the initiative 

was a monumental step 

that would deepen trade, 

open more opportunities, 

expand patronage and 

market scope of products 

from both countries. 

Commenting on Nigeria 

perception in the UK, she 

said Nigeria had more 

role to play in making the 

narrative change. 

“Nigeria must make it 

easy for investors to predict 

what to expect when they 

come into the country with 

their investment.” 

Okechukwu Enelamah, 

minister for trade 

and investment, in his 

presentation on ‘Ease of 

Doing Business in Nigeria’ 

reiterated government’s 

commitment to making 

Nigeria an attractive 

business destination. 

“The objective we are 

looking at is how we can 

make life easier for people, 

remove the bottlenecks and 

roadblocks and things that 

get in the way of people 

running their businesses 

efficiently, but this will need 

a collective responsibility 

both from the government 

and the private sector,” he 

remarked. 

He revealed that 

the government had 

earmarked airport 

concessioning, single 

window ports operation, 

deployment of scanners, 

and communication system 

to promote efficiency 

in the ports as some of 

the priority for 2018. For 

Akinola Olawore, president 

of the chamber, there was a 

need to continually sustain 

relationship in building 

sustainable plan to enable 

a more business-friendly 

environment. 

He noted that the 

forum was created to 

design, highlight and also 

propose direction to ensure 

sustained economic ties 

between the UK and Nigeria. 

70 manufacturers expected at 

Waste Water Technology expo 

ANGEL JAMES 

Ov e r 7 0 

manufacturers 

and water 

packagers are 

expected at this year’s 

West Africa Waste Water 

Technology expo and 

exhibition (Elan Expo) 

billed to take place between 

July 10 and 12 this year. 

According to Jude 

Chime, project coordinator 

of Elan Expo Nigeria, the 

event promises to rally all 

stakeholders in the water 

and waste management 

sector to see how they can 

increase participation in 

the areas of water supply, 

distribution, sanitation, and 

recent technologies in the 

waste water sector. 

“Seventy manufacturers 

and investors from other 

parts of the world and West 

Africa are expected. Lagos 

State Water Corporation, 

which is a key stakeholder, 

will tell us about the 

experience of water supply 

in the state so that other 

states can learn from that,” 

Chime said. 

He said some 

stakeholders from different 

parts of the world are 

aware of the event already 

and some have confirmed 

attendance. 

“We have heard from 

the embassies and they are 

all willing to cooperate and 

participate in this exhibition. 

We also have strong support 

from institutions related 

to water like the Nigerian 

Institution of Mechanical 

Engineers, and others. This 

RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta 

As a response to the 

complaints coming 

from investors and 

manufacturers that 

are based in Igbesa-Agbara as 

well as other industrial areas 

across the state, Ogun State 

government has requested 

investors and entrepreneurs 

to put down 30 percent 

cost, while government 

contributes 70percent to fix 

decaying infrastructure such 

as roads within industrial 

estate. 

The request was borne out 

complaints and criticisms 

from investors which were 

published by some national 

newspapers, including 

BusinessDay, on the need 

for government to quickly 

fix decaying roads and 

infrastructure in order to 

sustain the tempo at which 

industries expand and locate 

their factories and businesses 

to Ogun state in recent times. 

Speaking at 12th Quarterly 

meeting of MAN, Ogun 

State branch, with the state 

government in Abeokuta 

weekend, Bimbo Ashiru, 

commissioner for commerce 

and industry, said the level 

is an exhibition that can 

provide solutions for 2020. 

It is a continuous process 

until we get all the aspects 

in the water sector right,” 

Chime stated. 

Muminu Badmus, 

managing director of the 

Lagos Water Corporation, 

stated the expo is important 

as it is difficult to separate 

water from waste water. 

“It is from water you get 

the waste water. It will be 

an opportunity for us to 

learn, innovative ideas and 

equipment out there and 

see how we can incorporate 

them into the service we 

are providing locally. It is 

something we need to take 

advantage of. We would love 

to partner with them and 

provide field trip to some of 

our facilities.” 

“We have gone a 

long way, so it will be an 

opportunity to showcase 

what we have done. This 

expo is an opportunity to 

talk to investors so we can 

bridge the gap and supply 

more safe water. We will 

continue to do our best to 

ensure that by 2020, every 

household is connected to 

water,” Badmus said. 

The organisers say there 

has been a lot of support 

from many government 

ministries, including the 

Federal Ministry of Water 

Resources, which is also 

willing to support the event, 

adding that various states 

water corporations have 

been visited, including 

those in the south-west and 

about 10 in the northern 

part of the country. 

Ogun partners MAN to fix decaying 

infrastructure in Agbara, other industrial areas 

of decaying infrastructure, 

especially roads, is worrisome 

and there must be urgent and 

cogent solutions to this ugly 

scenario, which must be 

initiated by both investors 

and government. 

He said although 

efforts were ongoing to 

fix Atan-Igbesa-Agbara 

roads to Badagry end with 

concrete road solutions, 

compensations are being 

paid to those whose 

properties were demolished. 

He said the fact remains that 

investors and government 

should use public -private 

partnership arrangements 

to fix and find solutions to 

perceived challenges that 

could inhibit production and 

distribution of goods. 

Ashiru also disclosed 

that 304 companies and 

225,000 enterprises had 

opened for business in the 

state in the last seven years 

and cogent efforts must be 

done to sustain the tempo 

at which industries establish 

in Ogun through the fixing 

of decaying infrastructure, 

harmonisation of multiple 

taxation, among other things, 

which could improve ease of 

doing business in the state.


INTERVIEW 

The 2019 election presents opportunities to 

take a look atassets with good valuations 

Nigeria exited its first full-year economic recession in a quarter of a century in the second quarter of 2017, with the IMF and World Bank forecasting 

growth of around 2 percent this year. IKE ONYIA, the chief executive officer of Lagos-based FBNQuest Asset Management, in this interview with 

BusinessDay’s PATRICK ATUANYA, LOLADE AKINMURELE and DIPO OLADEHINDE, shared his views on investment opportunities in Nigeria post-recession. 

What investment 

opportunities 

are emerging in 

Nigeria, post-recession? 

Last year, Nigeria provided investors 

with relatively strong returns 

across money, fixed-income and 

public equity markets. Post-recession 

and with improving economic 

fundamentals driven by 

oil prices, stable output, growing 

foreign currency reserves and appropriate 

policies, we anticipate 

that businesses in Nigeria will do 

much better. With inflation trending 

downwards, money market 

and fixed income securities may 

provide short to medium-term 

investor’s with real rates of return. 

Long-term investors, with varying 

degrees of risk tolerance, will find 

viable investment opportunities 

in both public and private equity 

markets. The key consideration 

for investors after risk, will be the 

adoption of a suitable asset allocation 

strategy, which if optimal, will 

take advantage of investment opportunities 

across several sectors 

in Nigeria. Are there alternatives 

to Treasury Bills as yields slide? 

Treasury Bills are short-term 

money market securities with 

maturities of one year or less and 

are suitable for investors seeking 

liquidity and capital preservation 

objectives. Investors with these 

objectives should still consider 

exposure to treasury bills an appropriate 

strategy, in spite of a 

decline in yields from between 

18 per cent and 22 per cent last 

year to between 12 per cent and 

15 per cent, thus far, in 2018. It 

might be inaccurate to develop 

expectations around an absolute 

number and seek a perfect substitute 

with the same level risk 

tolerance threshold. Indeed, while 

yields looked attractive on the face 

of it, when you factor in average 

inflation of approximately 17 per 

cent in 2017, the real rate of return 

was between 1 per cent and 5 per 

cent. So last year’s yields may look 

attractive on an absolute basis, 

but much less so when adjusted 

for inflation. Investors can consider 

other opportunities within 

money markets include Bankers 

Acceptances and Commercial 

Paper but those with higher risk 

appetite and longer investment 

horizons may consider additional 

exposure to other asset classes 

such as bonds and public equities. 

In 2017, a portfolio diversified 

across money market, bonds and 

equity securities will have outperformed 

yields achieved from 

a money market only portfolio. In 

other words, investors should still 

consider including treasury bills in 

their portfolio but seek alternatives 

for higher yields through a carefully 

advised allocation strategy to 

include other asset classes. Stocks 

have rallied to a near 3-year high, 

do you expect the bullish momentum 

to be sustained especially on 

the back of impending elections? 

The NSE All-Shares Index 

achieved strong growth of 43 per 

cent in 2017, making it one of the 

top three performing stock mar- 

Ike Onyia 

kets in the world. This growth was 

spurred by rising commodity prices 

and the introduction of the Investors 

and Exporters (I&E) window by 

the Central Bank of Nigeria, which 

ensured foreign exchange stability 

and liquidity. Oil price trends and 

Nigeria’s economy are closely correlated 

and at the moment, prices 

and output are relatively stable. 

Following five quarters of negative 

growth, Nigeria has just exited a 

recession and is expected to grow 

at more than twice its growth rate in 

2017. Also, tight liquidity management 

and stable foreign currency 

markets have led to a decline in 

inflation and interest rates. All of 

these elements and more, support 

positive growth for businesses and 

the stock market over the course of 

2018, however, valuations are high 

following the bull run in 2017 and 

investors have to be selective and 

cautious in constructing their equities 

portfolio. What does the impending 

election hold for investors? 

Since 1999, Nigeria has witnessed 

four election cycles and 

as is usually the case, politics 

takes centre stage. Investors with 

a long-term mind set and appetite 

for exposure to one of the largest 

economies in Africa should stay the 

course. Indeed, while the run-up to 

the election will lead some investor 

segments to exercise caution, this 

could in itself present others with 

the opportunity to pick up investment 

assets at good valuations. 

How has the Investors and 

Exporters (I&E) window affected 

or had an impact on you? 

The I & E window effect was 

positive and provided liquidity in 

the foreign currency market, which 

in turn spurred investment activity 

in stocks, amongst others. 

How are your funds performing? 

Across board all our funds performed 

strongly and clients were 

well served as a result of our investment 

strategies, which outperformed 

relevant benchmark 

indices. Our FBN Money Market 

Fund achieved returns in excess of 

17 per cent the FBN Fixed Income 

Fund achieved 19.14 per cent while 

the FBN Eurobond (USD) Fund 

achieved in US$ returns of 12.17 

percent,. 

The funds’ performance is down 

to our strong and highly experienced 

investment management 

and research team. 

Expectation for 2018? 

With a fairly stable forecast oil 

price trading range, the macroeconomic 

story will be positive 

and we should witness strong 

growth relative to the recessionary 

environment that just passed. As 

expected, there will be a surge in 

political activities, which will most 

certainly attract a lot of attention. 

However, financial markets will 

present viable investment opportunities 

for consideration. In money 

markets, yields are expected to be 

less than last year as the Federal 

Government refinances its local 

debt book. The public equity market 

may witness a correction given 

current valuations of select stocks 

but will most likely end the year 

positive. Private equity markets 

continue to provide a pipeline of 

interesting value propositions focused 

on several sectors including 

consumer, financial services, agribusiness, 

broad-based technology, 

education, healthcare and more 

evident in the number of successful 

capital raises and exits. 

Forecast for 2018? 

IMF and World Bank forecast 

growth in Africa at over 3 per cent 

and over 2 per cent for Nigeria.. 

FBNQuest Capital Research has 

forecast a growth of 2 per cent in 

2018, which is over double the pace 

of growth of 0.8 per cent in 2017. 

In 2018, I think that we will 

see improved growth over 2017, 

although it will be fragile.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

29 

Access Bank Rateswatch 

KEY MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS 

Indicators Current Figures Comments 

GDP Growth (%) 1.40 Q3 2017 — higher by 0.68% compared to 0.72% in Q2 2017 

Broad Money Supply (M2) (N’ trillion) 24.00 Increased by 7.04% in Dec’ 2017 from N22.31 trillion in Nov 2017 

Credit to Private Sector (N’ trillion) 22.29 Increased by 1.50% in Dec’ 2017 from N21.96 trillion in Nov 2017 

Currency in Circulation (N’ trillion) 2.15 Increased by 13.15% in Dec’ 2017 from N1.90 trillion in Nov 2017 

Inflation rate (%) (y-o-y) 15.13 Declined to 15.13% in Jan’2018 from 15.37% in Dec’2017 

Monetary Policy Rate (%) 14 Raised to 14% in July ’2016 from 12% 

Interest Rate (Corridor) 14 (+2/-5) Lending rate changed to 16% & Deposit rate 9% 

External Reserves (US$ million) 41.42 February 21, 2018 figure — an increase of 1.62% from Feb start 

Oil Price (US$/Barrel) 65.71 February 23, 2018 figure - an increase of 4.35% in one week 

Oil Production mbpd (OPEC) 1.82 Jan’ 2018 figure — a decrease of 0.55% from Dec’2017 figure 

STOCK MARKET 

Indicators Friday Friday Change(%) 

23/02/18 16/02/18 

NSE ASI 42,570.89 42,638.83 (0.16) 

Market Cap(N’tr) 15.28 15.30 (0.16) 

Volume (bn) 0.31 0.82 (62.20) 

Value (N’bn) 6.40 8.06 (20.60) 

MONEY MARKET 

NIBOR 

Tenor Friday Rate Friday Rate Change 

(%) (%) (Basis Point) 

23/02/18 16/02/18 

OBB 11.50 18.17 (667.0) 

O/N 12.42 19.50 (708) 

CALL 9.71 8.10 160.8 

30 Days 14.87 14.71 16 

90 Days 15.92 15.05 86.4 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET 

Market Friday Friday 

1 Month 

(N/$) (N/$) Rate (N/$) 

23/02/18 16/02/18 23/01/18 

Official (N) 305.95 305.95 305.65 

Inter-Bank (N) 334.81 334.71 332.37 

BDC (N) 360.87 360.50 360.00 

Parallel (N) 362.00 363.00 365.00 

BOND MARKET 

AVERAGE YIELDS 

Tenor Friday Friday 

Change 


23/02/18 16/02/18 

3-Year 0.00 0.00 0.0 

5-Year 13.87 13.77 9.3 

7-Year 13.89 14.00 (10.3) 

10-Year 13.73 13.70 3.1 

20-Year 13.55 13.45 9.9 

Disclaimer 

This report is based on information obtained from various sources believed to be 

reliable and no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Reasonable care 

has been taken in preparing this document. Access Bank Plc shall not take responsibility 

or liability for errors or fact or for any opinion expressed herein .This document is for 

information purposes and private circulation only and may not be reproduced, 

distributed or published by any recipient for any purpose without prior express consent 

of Access Bank Plc. 

Sources: CBN, Financial Market Dealers Association of Nigeria, NSE and 

Access Bank Economic Intelligence Group computation. 

COMMODITIES MARKET 

Indicators 23/02/18 1-week YTD 

Change Change 

(%) (%) 

Energy 

Crude Oil $/bbl) 65.71 4.35 1.94 

Natural Gas ($/MMBtu) 2.56 0.00 (16.23) 

Agriculture 

Cocoa ($/MT) 2155.00 0.98 11.31 

Coffee ($/lb.) 120.85 (2.38) (7.18) 

Cotton ($/lb.) 79.60 3.92 2.71 

Sugar ($/lb.) 13.52 0.82 (11.81) 

Wheat ($/bu.) 467.75 (0.53) 

7.90 

Metals 

Gold ($/t oz.) 1329.46 (1.95) 

0.90 

Silver ($/t oz.) 16.57 (1.49) (3.61) 

Copper ($/lb.) 322.45 (1.36) (1.63) 

NIGERIAN INTERBANK TREASURY BILLS TRUE YIELDS 

Tenor Friday Friday Change 


23/02/18 16/02/18 

1 Mnth 13.61 14.91 (130) 

3 Mnths 14.53 12.82 171 

6 Mnths 15.30 15.17 14 

9 Mnths 15.36 15.48 (12) 

12 Mnths 15.39 15.66 (27) 

ACCESS BANK NIGERIAN GOV’T BOND INDEX 

Indicators Friday Friday Change 


23/02/18 16/02/18 

Index 2,600.25 2,602.54 (0.09) 

Mkt Cap Gross (N'tr) 8.56 8.57 (0.09) 

Mkt Cap Net (N'tr) 5.61 5.63 (0.34) 

YTD return (%) 5.85 5.95 (0.10) 

YTD return (%)(US $) -49.45 -49.36 (0.09) 

TREASURY BILLS (MATURITIES) 

Tenor Amount Rate (%) Date 

(N' million) 

91 Day 6,000.00 11.95 14-Feb-2018 



Market Analysis and Outlook: February 23 - March 2, 2018 

Global Economy 

In the US, the Federal Reserve left its target 

range for the federal funds the same rate at 1.25- 

1.5% following the release of the minutes of its 

last meeting held on the 31st January 2018. 

Gains in employment, household spending, and 

business fixed investment have been solid and 

near-term risks to the economic outlook appear 

roughly balanced lending weight to policy 

makers decision to keep the target rate 

unchanged. The policy makers however hinted at 

further rates hike in the coming months on the 

basis of improving economic fundamentals. In a 

separate development, the Office of National 

Statistics (ONS) reported that the UK economy 

expanded at a slower pace by 1.4% year-on-year 

in Q4 2017 compared to an upwardly revised 

1.8% growth in the prior period. Household 

consumption and government spending rose at 

a slower pace while fixed investment and 

business investment surged. Net trade was also 

a positive contributor as exports rose at a much 

faster pace than imports. Gross Domestic 

Product (GDP) for full year 2017 was reported at 

1.7% lower than its 2016 growth rate of 1.9%, its 

weakest growth rate since 2012. Elsewhere in 

Japan, the inflation rate rose by 1.4% year-onyear 

in January 2018, an increase of 0.4% 

compared to the previous month. According to 

the Statistics Bureau of Japan, it is the highest 

inflation rate since March 2015. This was mainly 

driven by the jump in cost of food, followed by 

increases seen in clothes and foot wear. Monthon-month, 

consumer prices went up by 0.4%. 

Local Economy 

The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee 

(FAAC) disbursed the sum of N655.18 billion 

among Federal, States and Local Governments 

in January 2018 from the revenue generated in 

December 2017. The amount distributed was 

from the statutory account and value added tax 

(VAT) comprising of N538.51 billion and N83.96 

billion respectively. Also N14.713bn and 

N16.055bn were distributed as FOREX 

Equalisation while excess bank charges of 

N1.938bn recovered was also distributed. A 

breakdown of the sum of N655.18 billion 

disbursed among the three tiers, revealed that 

the Federal Government received N278.73 

billion, states received N175.55 billion and the 

local governments received N132.48 billion. The 

oil producing states received N51.74 billion as 

the 13% derivation fund. Revenue generating 

agencies such Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), 

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and 

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) 

received N4.12 billion, N7.44 billion and N3.10 

billion respectively as cost of revenue 

collections. In a separate development, the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks 

and other financial institutions to settle 

customers’ complaints on issues of overcharge, 

unauthorised deductions and other matters 

within two weeks. CBN, Head of Complaints 

Management Division, revealed this in an 

interview with the News Agency of Nigeria. 

According to him the CBN has since issued a 

circular on its website showing all legitimate bank 

charges. He also advised irate bank customers to 

visit any branch of the CBN closest to them to lay 

their complaints. 

Stock Market 

Trading at the local bourse was volatile for the 

third consecutive week due to the Central bank’s 

directive on non-payment of dividends for banks 

with high Non-performing loans (NPLs) and low 

Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). Market indicators 

closed in the red on stocks in the banking and 

industrial goods sectors. The All Share Index 

(ASI) extended its losses by 0.2% or 67.94 points 

to close at 42,570.89 points from 42,638.83 

points the previous week. Similarly, market 

capitalization fell by 0.2% to close at N15.28 

trillion from N15.30 trillion the previous week. 

This week, we expect the market to remain 

volatile due to the CBN’s directive on nonpayment 

of dividends by banks with high NPLs 

and low CAR. 

Money Market 

Market rates moderated for the second 

consecutive week due to an inflow of N56 billion 

from Open Market Operations (OMO) maturity 

as well as a lack of activity by the Central Bank of 

Nigeria (CBN) to mop up excess liquidity. Shortdated 

placements such as Open Buy Back (OBB) 

and Over Night (O/N) rates declined to 11.50% 

a n d 1 2 . 4 2 % f r o m 1 8 . 1 7 % a n d 1 9 . 5 % 

respectively the previous week. However, longer 

dated placements edged up. The 30-day and 90- 

day NIBOR closed higher at 14.87% and 15.92% 

from 14.71% and 15.05% the prior week. This 

week, liquidity is expected to tighten as a result 

o f e x p e c t e d R e t a i l S e c o n d a r y M a r k e t 

Intervention Sales (SMIS). 

Foreign Exchange Market 

Last week, the naira exchange rate to the dollar 

appreciated marginally at the parallel market by 

N1 to N362/$ from N363/$ the previous week. In 

contrast, at the interbank window the naira 

depreciated slightly by 0.03% to close at 

N334.81/$ from N334.71/$ the previous week. 

The local currency however remained stable at 

the official market at N305.95/$. The relative 

stability of the local currency continues to be 

supported by the Central Bank’s intervention. 

This week, the naira is expected to remain around 

current levels due to the apex bank’s continuous 

market intervention. 

Bond Market 

Average bond yields accelerated in the week 

ended February 23, 2018 due to sell-offs on most 

tenors which may be attributed to positioning for 

the new 10-year bond by investors. Yields on the 

five-, ten- and twenty-year debt papers settled 

higher at 13.87%, 13.73% and 13.55% from 

13.77%, 13.70% and 13.45% respectively the 

previous week. The Access Bank Bond index fell 

marginally by 2.29 points to close at 2,600.25 

points from 2,602.54 points the previous week. 

This week, yields may further trend upwards due 

to a quiet week. 

Commodities Market 

Oil prices rebounded last week due to a surprise 

U.S. crude oil inventory draw. The Energy 

Information Administration (EIA) reported that 

inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels. Bonny light, 

Nigeria’s benchmark crude rose by 4.4% to 

$65.71 per barrel from $62.97 per barrel the 

previous week. Precious metals prices retreated 

as yields kicked up and the dollar strengthened 

after the Federal Reserve’s minutes at their 

January meeting heightened expectations for a 

quickened pace of rate increases. Gold price 

declined by 1.9% to $1,329.46 an ounce from 

$1,355.84 an ounce the previous week. Silver 

followed, falling by 1.5% to $16.57 from $16.82 

an ounce the previous week. Oil prices may be 

pressured by the increasingly rising U.S. shale 

production which offsets OPEC cuts. For 

precious metals, higher inflation can be 

supportive as safe haven assets are often viewed 

as a hedge against rising prices. 

MONTHLY MACRO ECONOMIC FORECASTS 

Variables Feb’18 Mar’18 Apr’18 

Exchange Rate 

(Official) (N/$) 331.33 331.12 332.93 

Inflation Rate (%) 15.10 15.05 15.00 

Crude Oil Price 

(US$/Barrel) 67 68 69 

For enquiries, contact: Rotimi Peters (Team Lead, Economic Intelligence) (01) 2712123 rotimi.peters@accessbankplc.com

30 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 


ANALYSIS 

Link between payment systems and Financial Inclusion 

PATRICK ATUANYA 

The World Bank Group 

and the Committee on 

Payments and Markets 

Infrastructures (CPMI) 

of the Bank for International 

Settlements recently convened 

a task force on Payment Aspects 

of Financial Inclusion (PAFI) 

to comprehensively examine how 

payment systems and services affect 

financial inclusion efforts. 

The PAFI task force, brought together 

experts from central banks, 

development banks and international 

organizations to examine 

this issue in a comprehensive 

manner. 

Its mandate was to examine 

demand- and supply-side factors 

affecting financial inclusion in 

the context of payment systems 

and services, and to suggest what 

measures could be taken to address 

these issues. 

The demand side is comprised 

by payment service users, like 

consumers, businesses, and government 

agencies and the supply 

side are payment service providers, 

like banks and authorized and/or 

regulated non-banks, as well as 

payment system operators. 

In September 2015, the PAFI 

task force released a consultative 

BALA AUGIE 

In Nigeria, millions of low 

incomes household face an 

extra difficulty when looking 

for financial products, especially 

finding a loan that compiles 

with Islamic laws or Sharia. 

In order to surmount the 

aforementioned challenges, the 

country is gradually opening up 

to Islamic finance, a strategy that 

could bring non-interest banking 

to 50 percent of the Nigerian 

population who are Muslims. 

Rates of financial exclusion 

are generally higher in the North 

Fig 1: Financial infrastructure for efficient payments system 

report on Payment Aspects of 

Financial Inclusion, for a threemonth 

public consultation process 

which ended in December 2015. As 

a result of the comments received 

the report was updated to strengthen 

the analysis and sharpen the 

message and the final report was 

issued last year. 

The report analyzed how payment 

systems and services promote 

access to and use of financial 

services and what elements of retail 

payments are critical to financial 

inclusion and how improving the 

payments infrastructure and services 

could accelerate access to and 

use of transaction accounts. 

It also discusses the relevance 

and importance of measuring the 

effectiveness of financial inclusion 

efforts from a payments perspective. 

Some of the conclusions 

reached was that safe and efficient 

payment services are important 

for the well-being of individuals, 

households and businesses, as well 

as a gateway to a broader range of 

financial services 

They also advance market efficiency, 

flexibility, integrity and 

competitiveness to support financial 

inclusion and stability. 

The PAFI task force also found 

that certain financial and other 

How banks are finding innovate ways to lend to Nigerian Muslims 

of the country, which has large 

muslim populations making it 

imperative for financial institutions 

and regulators to design 

products that would bring those 

citizens into the country’s formal 

financial system. 

In 2011, the Central Bank of 

Nigeria (CBN) granted licence 

to Stanbic IBTC Plc to carry out 

Islamic banking, which forbids 

paying and receiving interest on 

loans, enabling the bank to churn 

out Islamic banking products. 

The lender has brought Islamic 

banking to the door step of 

many Muslims that hitherto do 

not own bank accounts or were 

unable to access loans due to the 

fret of huge interest bearing loans. 

Jaiz Bank Plc, Nigeria’s first 

full-fledged non-interest bank, 

founded with a view to bridging 

financial exclusion and tapping 

the existing opportunities in the 

system, has been offering non 

interest financial services. 

The bank currently operates 

in six states and has about 18 

branches across the country after 

receiving licence from the CBN. 

Part of the banks products 

includes, Shirkat (Partnership), 

Ijarah (Rental), Kafalah Wakalah 

relevant infrastructures that are 

necessary for an efficient national 

payment system also form one of 

the basic foundations for financial 

inclusion. 

They include:A large-value 

interbank settlement system, an 

interbank system for retail payments, 

in specific electronic funds 

transfers, a payment card processing 

platform or platforms and an 

effective and efficient identification 

infrastructure, credit reporting 

and other data-sharing platforms 

also play an important role and 

finally, a robust communications 

infrastructure and power supply 

system are essential. 

Without these financial infrastructures, 

the efficient provision of 

various transaction accounts and 

electronic would be very difficult 

(see Fig 1). 

The Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) has enthusiastically embraced 

its cashless policy push 

because having an efficient, accessible 

and safe retail payment 

systems and services is necessary 

to be able to extend access 

to transaction accounts for the 

millions of Nigerians who are still 

underserved by regulated financial 

service providers or at worst 

financially excluded. 

The CBN has been able to mostly 

put in place the relevant infrastructure 

for a national payments 

system with critical help from the 

private sector. 

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement 

System (NIBSS) Plc, provides 

the infrastructure for automated 

processing, settlement of payments 

and fund transfer instructions between 

Banks and Card Companies 

in Nigeria. 

NIBSS is owned equally by all 

licensed banks in Nigeria, and the 

Central Bank of Nigeria. 

The CBN has also licensed 3 

credit bureaus to provide credit 

reporting and other data-sharing 

platforms while the liberalisation 

of the telecommunications 

space in 2001 led to a robust 

communications infrastructure 

with investments north of $50 

billion by all operators between 

2001 and 2015. 

The PAFI work is part of a 

worldwide financial inclusion effort, 

particularly from the World 

Bank Group’s UFA2020 initiative. 

Its goal is to ensure that all 

working-age individuals and businesses 

can have access to at least 

one transaction account operated 

by an authorized and/or regulated 

payment service provider 

to:perform most, if not all, of their 

payment needs, safely store some 

value and serve as a gateway to 

other financial services. 

based Guarantee, and Qard (Benevolent 

Loan). 

The bank plans to operate in 

all 36 states by upgrading and 

obtaining a national operating 

license and increasing the share 

capital base to N15 billion (USD 

$78 million). 

Another form of Islamic banking 

fast deepening financial inclusion 

in Africa’s most populous 

nation is the Takaful Insurance 

System, where members contribute 

money into a pooling system 

in order to guarantee each other 

against loss or damage. 

At present, takaful is growing 

at 20 to 25 percent per annum 

compared to world average 

growth of conventional insurance 

at five to six percent. 

A number of Insurance companies 

have embraced the Takaful 

system as a way of extending 

package to Muslims. The product 

has also helped bolster top lines 

of insurers due to high patronage 

from customers. 

Africa Alliance Insurance, 

Nigeria’s oldest life insurer was 

issued a licence by NAICOM, the 

body that regulates insurance 

business, to market the Takaful 

product.


BUSINESS DAY 

Cowry Weekly Financial Markets Review & Outlook 

31 

ECONOMY: FG Plans Tax Relief, Custom Duty Waivers to 

Investors in Modular Refineries… 

EQUITIES MARKET: Nigerian Equities Market Tanks by 16 

Bps to Eclipse Renewed Bargain Hunting… 

At the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja, on Wednesday, 

February 21, 2018, the Federal Government as part of its policy to revive the country’s 

oil sector, announced plans to incentivize the construction of modular refineries in 

the Niger Delta region. According to the Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister of 

State for Petroluem Resources, Rabiu Suleiman, some of the programmes/incentives 

include the granting of tax relief, custom duties waivers as well as guaranteeing 

regular crude oil supply to investors in modular refineries in the region. He also 

mentioned that the Federal Government had engaged potential financiers like the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Nigerian 

Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) towards making contributory finance with 

the possibility of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) picking up 

equity stake in at least one of the refineries. Elsewhere, the National Bureau of 

Statistics (NBS) released the sectoral report for Value Added Tax revenue for the 

2017 fiscal period which showed that the country generated a grand total amount 

of N972.35 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT) in 2017, a 25% year-on-year increase 

(from N777.50 billion recorded in 2016). Further breakdown revealed that N510.65 

billion was generated as Non-import (local) VAT, while N259.70 billion and N202 

billion were generated as Non-import (foreign) VAT and Nigeria Customs Service 

(NCS) import VAT respectively in 2017. Of the three classifications, the nonimport 

(foreign) VAT grew the most by 100% y-o-y to N259.70 billion in 2017 (from 

N125.63 billion in 2016) while NCS import VAT and non-import (local) VAT only 

grew by 7.43% and 2.77% respectively. Amongst the 28 sub-sectoral activities that 

generated the non-import VAT revenue locally, “manufacturing sector” generated 

the highest amount of N119.6 billion, closely followed by the “professional services 

sector” with N87.5 billion, while “commercial and trading sector” generated N49.5 

billion. Further Analysis based on y-o-y performance by growth rate showed 

that “building and construction sector” topped other sectors with a growth rate 

of 94.3% to contribute N13.3 billion in 2017 while “offshore operations” and 

“stevedoring, clearing and forwarding” sectors followed suit with a growth rate of 

83.9% and 43.0% to contribute N2.3 billion and N3.7 billion respctively. However, 

FOREX MARKET: Naira Appreciates against USD 

in Most Market Segments… 

In the week under review, the local currency appreciated week-on-week 

(w-o-w) against the U.S. dollar in most foreign exchange market segments amid 

weekly injections by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) worth USD210 million into 

the foreign exchange market of which USD 100 million was allocated to Wholesale 

(SMIS), USD55 million was allocated to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and 

USD55 million was sold for invisibles. The Naira appreciated at the Bureau De 

Change and the parallel (‘black’) market segments by 0.28% each to close at N359.00/ 

USD and N362.00/USD respectively while it closed flat against the U.S. dollar at 

the interbank foreign exchange market at N330/USD on sucessfully raised USD2.5 

billion Eurobond. However, at the Investors & Exporters Forex Window (I&E FXW) 

segment the Naira depreciated by 0.09% to close at N360.70. Meanwhile, most dated 

forward contracts at the interbank over-the-counter (OTC) segment depreciated – 1 

month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months contracts depreciated by 0.13%, 0.20%, 

0.31% and 0.34% to close at N364.82/USD, N369.14/USD, N373.60/USD and 389.04/ 

MONEY MARKET: NITTY Falls for Most Maturities on 

Bargain Hunting… 

In the just concluded week, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold treasury bills 

worth N67.7 billion via the secondary market. The outflows were partly offset 

by inflows worth N56.30 billion in matured treasury bills, resulting in liquidity 

strain. Hence, NIBOR for 1 month, 3 months and 6 months tenor buckets rose 

w-o-w to 15.56% (from 15.11%), 16.55% (from 15.58%) and 18.30% (from 17.69%) 

respectively. However NIBOR for overnight tenor bucket fell w-o-w to 13.30% 

(from 22.63%). Elsewhere, NITTY fell for most maturities tracked amid buy 

pressure: yields on the 1 month, 6 months and 12 months maturities moderated 

to 13.81% (from 14.83%), 15.37% (from 15.60%) and 15.35% (from 15.61%) 

respectively. However, yield on 3 months maturity rose to 14.49% (from 13.52%). 

This week, Central Bank of Nigeria will auction treasury bills worth N259.97 

billion, viz: 91-day bills worth N7.89 billion, 182-day bills worth N30 billion and 

N364-day bills worth N222.08 billion while treasury bills worth N369.35 billion 

will mature via both primary and secondary market which will more than offset 

BOND MARKET: FGN Bond Prices Fall for Most 

Maturities amid Higher-Yielding Issues … 

In the week under review, Federal Government auctioned bonds worth 

N79.62 billion, viz: 5-year, 14.50% FGN JUL 2021 (re-opening) worth N27.18 

billion and 10-year bonds worth N52.44 billion. The stop rate for the 5-year 

re-opening rose to 13.70% (from 13.38%) while the 10-year new issue had a 

stop rate of 13.98% respectively. Following the auctions, the prices of FGN bond 

traded at the over-the-counter (OTC) segment depreciated for most maturities 

tracked – the 20-year, 10% FGN JULY 2030 debt, the 10-year 16.39% FGN JAN 

2022 debt and the 5-year, 14.50% FGN JUL 2021 debt decreased in value by 

N0.56, N0.17 and N0.79 respectively; their corresponding yields rose to 13.62% 

(from 13.50%), 13.52% (from 13.48%), and 13.73% (from 13.45%); however, the 

7-year 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 debt price appreciated in value by N0.09 and its 

corresponding yield fell to 13.89% (from 14.00%). Meanwhile, FGN Eurobonds 

traded on the London Stock Exchange depreciated in value for most maturities 

amid sell pressure – the 10-year, 6.75% JAN 28, 2021 and the 5-year, 5.13% JUL 

12, 2018 decreased by USD0.09 (yield rose to 4.89% from 4.87%) and USD0.11 

(yield rose to 4.52% from 4.38%) respectively; however, the 10-year, 6.38% JUL 

“pharmaceutical,soaps and toileteries sector” led the least y-o-y performance with 

80.04% decline in VAT revenue contributing N837.4 million, while “petro-chemical 

and petroleum refineries” and “automobiles and assemblies” sectors were next 

in line, each revenue declined by 48.31% and 44.35% to contribute N4.9 billion 

and N1.8 billion respectively to the non-import (local) VAT revenue in 2017. In 

the United States, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits 

(jobless claims) fell week-on-week by 3.06% (or 7,000 claims) to 222,000 in the week 

ended February 17th 2018, below market expectations of 230,000. The decline in 

jobless claims was faster than the preceding week’s fall of 0.43% (or 1,000 claims) 

to 229,000 from 230,000. The 4-week moving average was 226,000 claims, a decline 

of 0.99% (or 2,250) from the previous week’s revised average of 228,250 claims. The 

sustained decline in this leading economic indicator could present the case for a 

gradual hike in short term interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserves; given current 

economic growth trend as well as the impact of an increase in employment rate 

on general price levels. Meanwhile, U.S. private sector companies (manufacturing 

and services) experienced significant expansion in business activity in February 

as Flash U.S. Composite Output Index stood at 55.9 (higher than 53.8 in January). 

The increase in index reading underpinned stronger demand, the fastest rate of 

job creation since August 2017, increased input costs and higher backlogs of work. 

USD respectively. However, spot rate was flattish at 305.95. This week, we expect 

stability in the Naira as global crude oil prices retains its upbeat which should result 

in further build-up in foreign reserve. 

the auctioned treasury bills. In addition to the anticipated FAAC disbursements, 

we expect moderation in interbank lending rates amid expected ease in financial 

system liquidity. 

12, 2023 appreciated by USD0.67 (yield fell to 5.36% from 5.50%). We anticipate 

likely bargain hunting at the OTC market with resultant price increase amid 

expectation of boost in financial system liquidity. 

Cowry Weekly Stock Recommendations As At Friday 23 February 2018 

In the just concluded week, the Nigerian Stock Market fell by 0.16%, dragging 

the twin market performance measures, NSE ASI and market capitalisation, lower to 

close at 42,570.89 points and N15.28 trillion respectively on profit taking activity. The 

fall however, overshadowed four consecutive days in the green – as the bourse closed 

positively from Tuesday to Friday. Most sectored guages closed in the red territory: 

the NSE Consumer Goods Index, NSE Oil/Gas Index and NSE Industrial Index fell 

by 1.06%, 1.81% and 0.49% to close at 973.58 points, 348.67 points, 2,287.62 points 

respectively. However, the NSE Banking index and NSE Insurance index rose by 

1.52% and 1.24% to close at 576.95 points and 156.16 points respectively. Elsewhere, 

Naira vote and transacted volumes declined w-o-w by 22.15% and 31.35% to N21.74 

billion and 2.02 billion shares respectively. This week, we opine that the direction of 

the market will largely be determined by the corporate results. 

POLITICS: Disagreement in Corruption War as AGF 

Queries Magu over CCT Chairman’s Prosecution... 

The President Muhammadu Buhari’s war against corruption took another 

twist in the week when it was reported on Monday, February 19, 2018 that the 

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar 

Malami (SAN), issued query to the acting chairman of the Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, asking him to explain, 

in 48 hours, his decision to file corruption charges against the Chairman of 

the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Mr. Danladi Umar. The letter reportedly 

revealed that the query was issued because the same agency, EFCC, had on 

two occasions, cleared the CCT boss of complicity in the N10 million bribery 

allegations upon which the charge was based. Also, the AGF had requested 

for clarification from the EFCC boss as to whether there are new facts, which 

were contrary to the Commission’s position in the March 2015 investigation 

report addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), 

which showed that the allegations against Justice Umar were mere suspicion 

and will not be sufficient to successfully prosecute him. The seeming face-off 

between the agencies of the Federal Government signaled discord within the 

camp of the President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusaders. Meanwhile, Mr. 

Abubakar Malami (SAN) justified his letter to President Muhammadu Buhari 

to terminate the charges instituted by EFCC against the immediate-past 

AGF, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and others, in respect of USD1.1 billion 

Malabu oil scam, based on the fact that he had evaluated the case and seen 

that investigations which led to filling of the charges were weak and could 

not earn conviction. We opine that continuous controversies surrounding the 

anti-corruption charges are not helpful to the government in power as its oftengenerated 

discordant tunes suggest a lack of policy coherence, thus watering 

down the government’s fight against corruption, and eroding its political capital. 

Disclaimer 

This report is produced by the Research Desk of Cowry Asset Management 

Limited (COWRY) as a guideline for Clients that intend to invest in 

securities on the basis of their own investment decision without relying 

completely on the information contained herein. The opinion contained 

herein is for information purposes only and does not constitute any offer 

or solicitation to enter into any trading transaction. While care has been 

taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability whatsoever 

is accepted by any member of COWRY for errors, omission of facts, and any 

direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this report or its contents. 

Cowry Asset Management Limited (Member of the Nigeria Stock Exchange) 

Plot 1319 Karimu Kotun, Victoria Island Lagos Tel: +234-1-2715008-9; +234-1-2716614-5 www.cowryasset.com



C002D5556 

FEATURE 

Investigation: Nigeria’s solar energy revolution 

stirs toxic battery waste management concern 

How to manage toxic used lead acid battery waste appears to be a downside to the current momentum solar 

energy is gathering in Nigeria, unless operators commit to responsible behaviour, writes ISAAC ANYAOGU. 

Every year, Blue Camel Energy, one of 

the biggest solar operators in Nigeria 

generates over 6,000 units of used 

lead acid batteries (ULABs). Many 

of these end up in the hands of local 

recyclers in Apo market, Abuja who break it 

open to extract lead inglots for exports. 

There are over a dozen serious solar companies 

in Nigeria handling big ticket projects 

including bank ATMs, solar street lights, mini 

grids in rural areas and solar home systems in 

major cities. While there are two kinds of batteries: 

lithium and lead acid batteries, the latter, 

more toxic, is also the most commonly used by 

these operators. 

Over 70 million Nigerians do not have access 

to grid power; this means that for many 

living in off-grid communities, renewable 

energy, mostly solar, would be their only hope 

for power. 

Operators are rising to the challenge according 

to my discovery in recent visit to states 

in Kaduna, Abuja, Anambra and Ogun states. 

Thousands of people living in communities 

where the national grid has not reached are 

enjoying between five and ten hours of electricity 

daily mostly through solar solutions 

including mini grids and solar home systems. 

Even in major cities of Lagos and Abuja, companies 

like Lumos and Arnergy Solar Ltd are 

providing solar home system solution which 

is helping underserved communities augment 

grid power. 

The United Nations Sustainable Development 

goal 7 ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’ 

encourages the adoption of renewables mostly 

solar PVs and mini grids as the quickest route to 

clean energy access for over 1.2 billion people 

without access to electricity globally, of which 

over 600million are from Sub Saharan Africa. 

Organisations like United States Africa 

Development Foundation (USADF) and Shellseeded, 

All On, are providing seed capital and 

grants for development of mini grids in Nigeria. 

In Lagos, Asteven has opened an academy to 

train installers and in Abuja, the distribution 

company Abuja Electric, is even powering an 

office in Gwarinpa with solar PVs. True, Nigeria’s 

solar energy market has not approached 

the size and sophistication of the East African 

markets, but it is roaring to go. A viable mobile 

money solution keeps getting in the way. 

However, batteries are one of the most 

important components of this revolution but 

not many operators consider the end-of-life 

issues for these batteries, which is regarded as 

hazardous waste. 

The quantity of used lead acid batteries 

currently generated in Nigeria is massive. A 

2016 study by Recycling and Economic Development 

Initiative of Nigeria (REDDIN), a 

non-governmental organisation (NGO), found 

that approximately 110,300 tons of used lead 

acid batteries are generated in Nigeria annually. 

When the figures for solar operators are 

included, it comes to over 500,000 tons annually, 

says Terseer Ugbo, who leads the NGO, 

citing research by other institutions. 

Environmental-wise, this is a ticking timebomb 

unless operators commit to responsible 

management. This is important because, UL- 

ABs projected to be generated from solar energy 

will triple those from the transport sector. Solar 

energy is the future, and Nigeria’s ambition to 

generate 30% of its power from renewables by 

2030 is projected to further increase the volume 

of used batteries that would be generated in 

the country. 

However, I found serious gaps in the knowledge 

of responsible management of ULABs by 

solar operators in Nigeria during a month-long 

investigation on the issue. The Extended Producer 

Responsibility (EPR) concept, a guide to 

sound environmental management of ULABs, 

has also not caught on. 

Traditionally, the bulk of ULABs generated 

in Nigeria largely come from passenger cars, 

motorcycles and trucks. There is a crude collection 

system in place that involves auto mechanics, 

scrap engine dealers paying between 

N5-N7,000 each for a used lead acid battery in 

Lagos, Oyo, Anambra, Ogun, Kano, Kaduna and 

Abuja. These batteries are moved in trucks and 

containers to Lagos where they are exported to 

China and India after the used batteries have 

been drained of acid and the lead extracted in 

crude recycling processes. 

Major ULABs dealers collect over 1,200 tons 

monthly in their respective regions. In Lagos 

where the market is the most active, itinerant 

collectors rely on local battery retail outlets who 

buy from individuals who wish to exchange 

their old batteries for new ones. They also buy 

from scrap yards dealers and mechanic villages. 

Like Ndubuisi Umeh, the managing director 

of Endy Henry Nigeria Ltd based in a scrap 

market in Obosi Anambra state, visited during 

the investigation for this story. Umeh, the biggest 

operator in the market, has informal networks 

in mechanic workshops around Enugu, 

Anambra, Abia and Imo states that bring him 

condemned batteries. 

“I have boys who go out and collect these 

batteries for me from shops that sell new batteries,” 

he said sitting in a tawdry shop in Obosi 

scrap market, heavy with the pungent smell of 

batteries shorn of acid, surrounded by workers 

stacking batteries in a heap. 

Though volumes are still low, solar operators 

in Nigeria dispose of their batteries 

following this pattern. “We don’t generate 

much battery because they basically belong 

to our clients that we have installed for,” says 

Bolade Soremekun, CEO of Rubitec Solar who 

just commissioned a N200m solar hybrid mini 

grid in Ogun state 

Soremekun further said, “We sell them to 

people who buy used batteries and we think 

they sell locally or by export to recyclers. We 

don’t worry about this much, that is why we 

sell to these people.” 

Ernest Akale, CEO of Electric City Energy 

Ltd, who recently handled a solar street project for the 

Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said, “What 

we generated on a monthly rate of 10-15 pieces of UL- 

ABs, sometimes we have some recycling companies 

who pick them up and sometimes our engineers sell 

to local vendors for between N12,000 and N15,000. In 

terms of what they do with it, I don’t know.” 

This is the current, standard practice for many 

operators in the sector. 

The danger 

Lead-acid batteries contain sulphuric acid and 

large amounts of lead. The acid is extremely corrosive, 

and a good carrier for soluble lead and lead 

particulate. Lead is a highly toxic metal that produces 

a range of adverse health effects particularly in young 

children, including cardiovascular, neurological and 

gastrointestinal diseases like anaemia, and mental 

retardation. 

Experts say long term exposure can result in 

cancer, brain and kidney damage in human. Further 

dangers include hearing impairment and it can affect 

children’s cognitive development. I cannot be sure if 

that is why I had practically scream at battery dealers 

in Onitsha before they can hear me – but then again 

it could easily have been the result of the organised 

chaos in the rowdy market. 

The danger this time is not solely from poorly 

equipped primary battery recycling sites, as a clampdown 

by the Lagos state government is sending many 

out of the business of crude recycling, it is from collectors 

draining acid into the ground which can contaminate 

water sources, endangering human health. 

The market is moving towards collection of used 

battery rather than recycling and the growth of the 

solar energy industry means that operators will 

generate more ULABs, which would constitute more 

environmental challenges. 

ULABs from the bourgeoning solar industry are 

projected to eclipse the automobile sector. For every 

6 kW solar PV installations about 8 units of batteries 

(400 Amp, 48 V) are needed. For urban apartments 

about 24 batteries are needed, for rural households 

about 1-4, depending on the energy consumption


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

33 

FEATURE 

needs, according to solar operators. 

Nigeria’s solar PV target of 30,000 MW according 

to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), 

would require a dizzying amount of lead-acid batteries. 

Currently, for every 6 kilowatts of installed solar PV 

about 8 units of batteries (400 Amp, 48 V) are needed. 

A quick calculation indicates that to generate the 

30,000 megawatts (MW) about 40 million batteries will 

need to be installed initially. The typical lifetime of a 

battery is only about three years, compared to 20-25 

years average lifespan of the PV panels. For 30,000 MW 

solar PV capacity this would mean over the lifetime 

about 280 million batteries will have to be installed, 

replaced, recovered and then recycled. 

Over 80 percent of the batteries used in solar energy 

generation are imported from China and there was 

no operator who confirmed that they were not using 

lead acid batteries. The alternative, lithium batteries 

is yet to gain a foothold in the Nigerian off-grid market 

because it cost twice as much to purchase. Margins 

are low and many projects are financed by debt which 

can’t be recouped in 5 years, hence operators prefer 

lead acid battery to meet their bottom-line. 

Lithium batteries deliver longer life cycles, shorter 

recharge period, but it has very low economic viability 

of recycling hence disposal in landfills which also 

results in environmental hazards. 

“The environmental impact of batteries as the off 

grid energy sector scales in Nigeria is a big concern 

to All On and something we consider in our investment 

decisions,” says Wiebe Boer, CEO of All On, 

who recently signed a funding agreement with some 

operators. 

Poor knowledge of EPR 

Many of the solar operators interviewed for this story 

have not heard of the EPR hence asking them about 

their level of compliance is the equivalent of asking a 

man born blind to describe a rainbow. 

The EPR shifts the responsibility for waste management 

from government to private industry, obliging 

producers, importers and/or sellers to internalise 

waste management costs in their product prices and 

ensuring the safe handling of their products. 

According to the National Environmental Standards 

and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), 

a government agency that regulates hazardous waste, 

a properly implemented EPR is a driving force in 

waste avoidance and effective pollution prevention 

and reduction in many industrial sectors towards the 

promotion of green economy. It offers a framework for 

a partnership approach between Government, business, 

and the community to work towards zero waste. 

The EPR is the gold standard for managing ULABs 

in Germany, China, United States, Netherlands and 

South Africa among others. 

Understandably, recyclers and collectors bear 

the primary responsibility in the EPR. Recyclers are 

required to mandatorily subscribe to the concept, 

ensure safe management of waste, design and implement 

appropriate EPR programme and administer 

recovery and recycling programmes, register with a 

Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO), who 

monitors design of EPR, renew registration annually 

and keep proper inventory of products. 

Collectors on the other hand, are required to 

register with a collection Centre, work closely with 

operators of collection centres and consumers, use 

approved transportation system/carts, ensure the use 

of appropriate PPE, receive compensation from major 

collectors or operators of collection centres, provide 

Astevens Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Academy trains installers 

Batteries used to power an off grid house in Abuja by Blue Carmel Energy Ltd 

compensation or payment for consumers; and 

promote any other actions towards the successful 

implementation of the EPR Programme. 

Solar energy operators as importers/ 

consumers of lead acid battery are required 

to dispose them through legal or appropriate 

means and promote any other actions towards 

the successful implementation of the EPR Programme 

which includes ensuring that informal 

collectors adhere to best practices. They have 

the obligation too to find reputable, formal 

operators to sell their used batteries. 

“We are currently discussing with Union 

Autoparts and are in the process of reaching a 

formal agreement with them on disposal of our 

batteries,” says Femi Adeyemo, a co-founder of 

Arnergy Solar Ltd, whose operation will start 

generating thousands of ULABs in three years. 

However, Union Autoparts Manufacturing 

Company, based in Nnewi has a weird problem. 

The company has Africa’s biggest recycling 

plant, equipped with topnotch recycling 

facilities installed at a cost of over N3billion 

but the company’s workers are seen milling 

around during my visit to the plant due to an 

inability to secure used batteries for recycling. 

However, some operators say their charges are 

not competitive. 

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the Federal Government 

has developed a National Environmental 

Regulations with provision for the EPR. The 

NESREA developed operational guidelines 

that explore the use of economic instrument 

to ramp up compliance but enforcement as 

regards ULABs has not received the kind of 

attention e-waste has received. 

The battery producer is tasked with monitoring 

of their products from cradle to cradle 

and administer recovery and recycling programmes 

through the PRO. On the other hand, 

the government would monitor compliance, 

ban designated hazardous materials from use 

in products and/or disposal, establish relevant 

environmental standards, register and accredit 

recyclers as Authorised Treatment Facilities 

(ATF), and issue permits. 

But this is yet to have desired impact. “The 

Agency (NESREA) is awaiting the sector players 

to organise themselves and bring up a plan for 

EPR implementation and submit to NESREA 

for review and approval,” Miranda Amachree, 

director, Inspection and Enforcement Department 

of NESREA said in a presentation at a 

workshop on the subject last year. 

Not much progress seems to have been 

made on this front. Lawrence Anukam, director 

general of the NESREA in an interview on 

February 21, in his office in Abuja, said the sector 

players have now nominated a PRO and his 

parastatal was ramping up enforcement, calling 

on states to partner with the organisation. But 

the next day, when the NESREA met with the 

group, it was discovered that operators are yet 

to fully agree on the modalities for setting up 

the PRO. 

Operators agree reforms are necessary, 

“There is need for a formal regulation of the 

sector, because it is growing beyond the volume 

anticipated,” says Yusuf Sulaiman, MD/ 

Key stakeholders in Nigeria’s EPR programme 

Source: NESREA 

CEO of Blue Carmel Energy in a presentation 

at a workshop on ULABs last year. His ULABs 

annual generation of 6,000 units is worth over 

N600million. 

Boer thinks so too, “The industry needs to 

establish strict industry standards and enforce 

them. We are interested in investing in companies 

with a recycling solution as well as in 

supporting efforts to set to set the standards. 

We have to get this right now that the industry 

is still nascent.” 

A model that works 

For solar energy operators, the example of 

Mobisol provides a teaching lesson for proper 

management of ULABs. Mobisol, a leading 

provider of decentralized solar solutions, has 

joined hands with e-waste and battery recyclers 

in all operational countries. 

The company is partnering with Phenix 

Recycling in Tanzania, Enviroserve in Rwanda, 

and Associated Battery Manufacturers (ABM) 

in Kenya. All three recycling partners have 

demonstrated a strong commitment to establishing 

a comprehensive recycling network for 

off-grid solar components, such as waste from 

solar products, consumer electronics and leadbased 

batteries. 

This milestone comes at a time where the 

off-grid solar industry increasingly acknowledges 

the importance of finding end-of-life 

solutions for its products. In order to steer this 

urgent issue with clarity and transparency, Mobisol 

positions itself as one of the first market 

players to openly communicate its recycling 

infrastructure. 

E-waste recycling was one of the emerging 

topics of discussion at the Off-Grid Solar Forum 

in Hong Kong last month. At the event, attended 

by over 600 sector representatives, the importance 

of collaboration and exchange in order to 

improve existing methods for safe disposal of 

e-waste and batteries was strongly emphasized. 

Facing the immense challenge of the informal 

recycling sector that uses practices which 

do not meet acceptable, sustainable standards, 

Mobisol is pushing for recyclers and off-grid 

companies to work together to focus on so- 

cial and environmental standards and create 

awareness for sound waste management in 

countries they work in. 

“ABM is very content to have found an 

ambitious, environmentally conscious partner 

in Mobisol. The decentralized solar industry 

is one that will face further challenges with 

regards to recycling in the future; experienced, 

long-standing recyclers like ABM have the 

responsibility to provide clear and transparent 

end-of-life solutions to those who are willing 

to tackle the challenge of informal and inappropriate 

practices sustainably,” says Guy Jack, 

managing director of ABM. 

The solar energy industry in Nigeria is only 

beginning to take off and operators are still 

reporting minimal volumes of ULABs, but this 

will grow over time, making this the best time 

to begin to put in place strategies to manage 

the toxic waste. As they say in Zambia, it is too 

late to fatten the cow on a market day, therefore 

it seems wise to bale this water now, that it is 

only ankle deep. 

According to the communiqué released at 

Heinrich Boll Stiftung Nigeria workshop on 

ULABs management last year, stakeholders 

resolved that renewable energy companies 

must be encouraged to deliver ULABs to recognised 

and authorised ULABs collectors and 

recyclers. Many say they would commit to this 

but it remains to be seen how much commitment 

they would give.



C002D5556 

FEATURE 

New CBN directive to affect 

dividend payouts of some banks 

… Policy is in the right direction – analysts say 

UMWENI KELVIN AND 

BALIKEES ROTINWA 

Some banks in the country 

are likely going to be affected 

by the new CBN directive 

which bars deposit 

money banks and discount 

houses with high non-performing 

loans and poor capital adequacy 

ratio from paying dividends to 

shareholders, a report from Cowry 

Asset Management reveals. 

Earlier in the year, the Central 

Bank of Nigeria in its circular 

dated 31st January 2018 asserted 

that most financial institutions 

in the country do not consider 

their risk exposure and the need 

to strengthen their capital base 

before dividend disbursement to 

shareholders noting that all over 

the world, retained earnings is an 

important source of fund in building 

institutions. 

According to the apex monetary 

authority, banks whose NPL and 

CAR is within regulatory threshold 

of 5 per cent and 15 per cent respectively 

have unrestricted DPR. 

Banks with CAR at least 3 % but 

above the regulatory minimum of 

15 per cent and NPL ratio greater 

than 5 per cent but not more 

than 10 per cent is restricted to a 

dividend payout ratio of not more 

than 75 per cent of profit after tax 

(PAT). Lastly, banks with CAR within 

the regulatory threshold and NPL 

ratio greater than 5 per cent but 

less than 10 per cent is restricted 

to a DPR of not more than 30 per 

cent of PAT. 

“In order to facilitate sufficient 

and adequate capital build up for 

banks in tandem with their risk 

appetite, any Deposit Money Bank 

(DMB) or Discount House (DH) 

that does not meet the minimum 

capital adequacy ratio shall not 

be allowed to pay dividend. DMBs 

and DHs that have a Composite 

Risk Rating (CRR) of “High” or a 

Non Performing Loan (NPL) ratio 

of above 10% shall not be allowed 

to pay dividend” the circular stated. 

“DMBs and DHs that meet the 

minimum capital adequacy ratio 

but have a CRR of “Above Average” 

or an NPL ratio of more than 5% but 

less than 10% shall have dividend 

payout ratio of not more than 30%. 

DMBs and DHs that have capital adequacy 

ratios of at least 3% above 

the minimum requirement, CRR of 

“Low” and NPL ratio of more than 

5% but less than 10%, shall have 

dividend pay-out ratio of not more 

than 75% of profit after tax”. 

According to the report by 

Cowry Asset Management titled 

“Banking Sector Dividend Outlook”, 

FBN Holding alongside two other 

banks – Skye bank and Unity bank 

- will be unable to pay dividend to 

shareholders based on the analysis 

of their Q3, 2017 financial statements. 

FBN Holdings with the highest 

NPL ratio in the banking industry 

of 20.10%, (though down from 

2016’s ratio of 24.90 per cent) and 

a CAR of 20.50 per cent (up by 0.50 

per cent from 20 per cent in 2016) 

surpassed the regulatory minimum 

NPL and CAR of 5 per cent and 15 

per cent respectively compared to 

NPL ratios of other tier one banks: 

Zenith (4.2 per cent), GT bank (3.9 

per cent), Access Bank (2.5 per 

cent) and UBA (4.2 per cent). This 

indicates that FBN Holdings quality 

of loan portfolio is quite poor 

compared to other tier one bank. 

In an exclusive interview with 

the News Editor of Businessday 

recently, the Group Managing 

Director of FBN Holdings, Mr U.K 

Eke stated that the bank is targeting 

NPL ratio of below 5 per cent 

by the end of 2019. “We will see a 

normalisation of NPLs by 2019 and 

it will be sub 5 per cent, we are very 

confident about that,” Eke said. 

Though the circular was issued 

to all DMBs in the country, the prospect 

of affecting FBN Holding’s dividend 

payout is rather reduced as it 

is a financial holding company with 

other subsidiaries that could shore 

up earnings and buffer capital. 

Looking at the risk management 

culture of the Tier 1 banks in the 

third quarter of 2017, Guaranty 

Trust Bank has the lowest cost of 

risk ratio of 0.53%, about 86 per 

cent decline in the previous year’s 

value. Access bank of Nigeria PLC 

on the other hand retained its cost 

of risk at 0.9 per cent, in Q’3 of 2016 

and 2017. 

The level of exposure of United 

Bank of Africa is also quite low due 

to the value of the bank’s cost of 

risk of 1.1 per cent, 2 bpts difference 

from the same quarter of the 

previous year. An increase of about 

108 per cent was however recorded 

by Zenith Bank PLC, as the cost of 

risk increased from 1.3 per cent in 

Q’3 of 2016 to 2.7 per cent for the 

9 months period of 2017. 

Out of the tier 1 banks, First Bank 

of Nigeria Holdings has the highest 

cost of risk of 6.9 per cent in Q’3 of 

2016, tumbling to 5.6 per cent in 

September, 2017. 

The wide margin between FBN 

Holdings’ cost of risk and the other 

banks in the tier 1 group is as a 

result of the significant impairment 

charge on their loan books 

of N114.7 billion and N97.6 billion 

in 2016 and 2017 respectively. 

Impairment charge is the cost incurred 

for loan losses. 

Nevertheless, the GMD of FBN 

Holdings noted that they are targeting 

a cost of risk of 2 per cent 

by 2019. 

FBN Holdings 9M 2017 financial 

report reveals that the total loan 

to oil and gas sector (encompassing 

the downstream, upstream 

and services subsectors) stood at 

N702.3 billion compared to N844 

billion in the corresponding quarter 

of 2016. Other sectors that gained 

from increased credit inflow from 

the bank includes Manufacturing 

(12.8%), construction (4.3 per cent), 

general (4.3 per cent), real estate 

(7.9 per cent) and power and energy 

(5.1 per cent). 

Though the NPL risk exposure 

for the oil and gas sector in the 

quarter under review was down 

by 11.2 percentage points from 

75.1 per cent (N398 billion) in Q3, 

2016 to 63.9 per cent (215 billion) 

in Q3 2017, the risk exposure in FBN 

Holdings’ balance sheet could be 

attributed to volatilities in oil prices 

which had a monumental effect on 

the oil sector. 

While Access, Zenith, UBA and 

Guaranty Trust banks have unrestricted 

payout ratio, Diamond, 

Fidelity and Sterling banks are eligible 

to a payout ratio of 30 per cent. 

Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank Transnational 

and Union bank Plc) are 

eligible to a payout of not more 

than 75 per cent. On account of 

their negative retained earnings/ 

accumulated deficit positions, Union 

Bank (N244 billion), Unity Bank 

(N276 billion) and Wema Bank (N38 

billion) are not expected to pay 

dividend, the report stated. 

Omotola Abimbola, an analyst 

at Afrinvest via a telephone call 

opined that “when you compare 

the dividend history of the banks, 

the new policy has no consequential 

impact at least in the short term 

because most of the banks have 

hitherto not surpassed the new 

regulatory dividend payout ratio 

in the past three to four years”. He 

stressed that most Nigeria investors 

are income investors and they 

value dividends a lot so they can 

punish banks if they do not receive 

dividend. 

Looking at the underlined reasoning 

behind the CBN policy, 

we think it is in the right direction 

because it is going to stimulate the 

effort by the apex bank to keep the 

NPL within check and encourage 

appropriate behaviours by banks” 

he said. 

Emakhu Adomi, Managing Director 

of 3A Capital on his part said 

that there is likely going to be a shift 

from banking stocks to stocks of 

sectors that pays higher dividend. 

“Due to the fact that investors 

in the NSE places high premium 

on dividend paying stocks, it is 

expected that there will be a shift 

from banking stocks to other sectors 

like industrial and consumer 

goods that are not so highly regulated” 

Adomi said. 

Analysts are of the opinion that 

banks that are contemplating paying 

dividends to shareholders to 

make their shares more attractive 

ahead of potential capital raising 

will be forced to rethink their strategy 

and possibly also consider using 

accumulated profits over time 

to shore up capital. 

Basically what has happened 

is that the CBN in exercising is 

oversight regulatory function has 

deemed it necessary to restrict 

certain banks who do not meet 

certain financial ratios from paying 

dividends until they meet these 

requirements, Adomi noted. 

“These banks who do not meet 

the new requirements can grow and 

shore up capital through the normal 

process of retained earnings. Overall, 

this policy is good for the banking 

industry and for the economy”.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 35 

Stocks Currencies Commodities Rates + Bonds Economics Funds Week Ahead Watchlist P.E 

Nigerian Insurers’ share price 

Year-to-Date on NSE 

Page 36 Page 36 

9 Mobile remains viable investment 

amid uncertainties 

ECONOMY 

NPF Pensions Ltd is one of the 

best performing PFAs in 2017 

ENDURANCE OKAFOR 

NPF Pensions 

Limited was 

incorporated 

on 21st 

October 

2013 with a fully paid 

share capital of N1 billion. 

The two major shareholders 

are; Nigeria Police 

Welfare Insurance Cooperative 

Society Ltd and Nigeria 

Police Multipurpose 

Cooperative Society Ltd. 

The NPF Pensions Limited 

operates 2 funds, the 

Retiree Fund and the RSA 

active fund. 

The Retiree Fund of 

NPF Pensions Ltd was one 

of the best-performing 

among the Retirement 

Savings Account (RSA) 

category of funds in 2017. 

The Retiree Fund which 

commenced in May 11, 

2017, generated one of 

the highest returns in the 

industry with an annual 

return of 20.32 percent. 

A retirement fund invests 

funds for retirement 

benefits and from where 

funds are paid. 

The RSA Retiree Fund 

component comprised of 

asset class of equity, Money 

Market, T-Bills, Corporate 

Bonds and Federal 

Government Bond. 

The total market value 

of the fund stood at 

N15.8 billion, out of which 

N132.3 million (0.84%) 

was invested in equities, 

N2.6 billion (16.53%) in 

money market funds, 

N12.9 billion (81.64%) in 

Treasury-Bills and N156.5 

million (0.99%) in Federal 

Government bonds. 

For the RSA active fund, 

the equity asset class portfolio 

return was 17.76 

percent, which was above 

the average return for the 

Fund of 14.09 percent, 

but below the NSE ASI for 

2017 of 42.30 percent. 

The portfolio comprises 

17 carefully selected 

fundamental stocks out of 

the 40 stocks in the Pension 

Stocks Index (PSI). 

BusinessDay learnt that 

since the commencement 

of the investment operations 

in December 2014, 

it had been NPF Pension 

Ltd deliberate strategy to 

remain below 5 percent 

in this asset class, so as to 

build up profit and subject 

the fund to less volatility. 

In 2015 and 2016, the 

Nigerian Stock Exchange 

(NSE) All Share Index 

(ASI) performed badly, a 

reflection of the recession 

and weak macros, thus the 

strategy paid off in both 

years when compared to 

other PFAs that had larger 

exposure to the equity 

class. 

In 2017, the NSE ASI 

closed the year at its best 

for the past four years 

and the Fund benefited 

from this rally as it saw 

opportunities from the 

economic and stock analysis 

in Q4-2017, and thus 

grew this portfolio to 9.03 

percent by close of 2017. 

In the RSA money 

market asset class, the 

return was above the return 

benchmark set in its 

policy and is a reflection 

of its quest to extract the 

best rates available from 

Deposit Money Banks of 

investment grade, within 

the tenors that were optimal 

for the fund. 

While in the Treasury- 

Bills asset class, the Fund 

generated 16.85 percent 

return which was also 

above the Fund’s performance 

and also above the 

benchmark of the Investment 

policy as well as the 

class’s all-year performance 

in the market. 

The Fund’s portfolio of 

Corporate Bonds in 2017 

did not change and thus 

remained at 2016 levels. 

The return for the fund 

was above the global market 

performance. 

The RSA FGN Bonds 

portfolio, which constituted 

over 50 percent of the 

portfolio (on moving average 

in 2017), comprise 

sub-optimal bonds, which 

were transferred by other 

PFAs to NPF Pensions. 

Data seen by Business- 

Day show that these suboptimal 

bonds constituted 

46 percent of entire 

portfolio as at December 

31 2017 and were transferred 

at book values rather 

than mark-to-market. 

The relative belowindustry 

performance is 

largely attributed to the 

sub-optimal bonds in the 

portfolio, which are held 

at book value and being 

amortized. 

The RSA active Fund 

has a market value of 

N334 billion, out of which 

equity accounts for N 30.1 

billion, Money Market 

is N72.3 billion, T-Bill is 

N50.3 billion, Corporate 

Bond of N30.2billion and 

FGN Bond of 150.9 billion. 

The Equity has a return 

rate of 17.76 percent, Money 

Market returns is 19.81 

percent , T bill returns 

is 16.85 percent, Corporate 

Bond returns is 14.65 

percent, while FGN Bond 

returns is 9.59 percent. 

“We are watching the 

portfolio closely ‘round 

the clock’ to ensure that 

the Fund’s performance 

improves significantly 

despite the impact of the 

sub-optimal bonds,” the 

Fund said. 

The Fund is optimistic 

that in 2018, the fortunes 

of the RSA fund will be 

much better. 

SHORT TAKES 

$486 million 

The World Bank has approved a $486 

million credit facility to Nigeria for 

electricity grid improvements, the 

lender said on Friday. 

The investments under the Nigeria 

Electricity Transmission Project 

aim at increasing the power transfer 

capacity of the transmission network 

and to enable distribution companies 

to supply consumers with 

additional power. 

Nigeria’s dilapidated power sector 

is often criticised by economists 

for holding back the country’s 

economic growth. Businesses and 

households are subject to frequent 

blackouts, and many depend on 

their own generators that are expensive 

to run. 

S&P Global Ratings 

S&P Global Ratings said on 

February 15, 2018 that it has 

assigned its ‘B’ long-term 

issue rating to the proposed 

U.S. dollar-denominated 

Eurobond to be issued by the 

Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

The amount and interest rate, 

among other details of the 

bond, will be determined during 

the placement. 

US$2.5 billion 

Nigeria announced on February 

15, 2018 that it has priced 

its offering of US$2.5 billion 

aggregate principal amount of 

dual series notes (the “Notes”) 

under its Global Medium 

Term Note Programme, according 

to a statement from 

the Federal Ministry of 

Finance. 

The Notes comprise a US$1.25 

billion 12-year series and 

a US$1.25 billion 20-year 

series. The 12-year series will 

bear interest at a rate of 7.143 

percent, while the 20-year 

series will bear interest at a 

rate of 7.696percent, and, in 

each case, will be repayable 

with a bullet repayment of 

the principal on maturity. The 

offering is expected to close 

on or about 23 February 2018, 

subject to the satisfaction of 

various customary closing 

conditions. 

BusinessDay MARKETS INTELLIGENCE (Team lead: BALA AUGIE - Analyst: DIPO OLADEHINDE, ENDURANCE OKAFOR, BUNMI BAILEY Graphics: DAVID OGAR ) 

BMI provides in-depth analysis and data on industries, companies, stocks, currencies, fixed income/credit, economics, regulation and factors that influence investor’s decision-making 

Email the BMI team patrick.atuanya@businessdayonline.com


COMPANIES 


Markets Intelligence 

Nigerian Insurers’ share price Year-to-Date on NSE 

… Aiico, Mansard, Linkage, N.E.M Insurance shares lead on return 

Nigerian quoted insurance 

firms with 

stock price less than 

N0.50 are the worst 

performers on the 

Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) 

so far in 2018. 

A stock is said to underperform 

if it produces a worse return 

than an index or the overall 

stock market 

BusinessDay analysis revealed 

eleven of the listed insurance 

firms had their Year-to- 

Date return not just less than the 

NSE All Share Index (ASI) of 11.32 

percent but was at the negative 

trajectory, as at the close of market 

for as at Friday last week. 

The insurance companies that 

were surveyed includes; Cornerstone 

Insurance Plc with a share 

price of N0.43 and YTD return of 

-14 percent, Equity Assurance 

Plc share price was N0.40 with 

YtD return of -20 percent. 

Also, Lasaco Insurance Plc, 

Standard Alliance Plc, Regency 

Alliance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance 

Plc, Niger Insurance Plc, 

Prestige Assurance Plc, Africa Alliance 

Plc, Soveriegn Trust Plc and 

Unity Kapital Assurance Plc had 

both share price and YtD return 

of N0.33 & -34 percent, N0.48 & 

-4 percent, N0.48 &-4percent, 

9 Mobile remains viable investment amid uncertainties 

DIPO OLADEHINDE 

9Mobile remains viable for 

investors as the mobile network 

company continues to 

attract subscribers according to 

data from the fourth quarter (Q4) 

of 2017 National Bureau of Statistics’ 

(NBS) telecom report. 

9Mobile attracted the highest 

number of incoming porters from 

other networks despite the challenges 

it faced during the period 

under review. 

Total Numbers Ported Incoming 

from Other Networks to 9mobile 

was at 5,177 followed by MTN 

at 1,538, while Airtel and Glo had 

1,173 and 740 incoming porters 

respectively. 

“Provision of good quality 

service by the telecom network to 

its subscribers led to the increase 

in the in-porting customers”, Boye 

Olusanya, CEO 9Mobile told BusinessDay 

on phone. 

In the fourth quarter of 2017, 

total number of incoming and 

outgoing porting activities stood 

at 8,628 and 8,830, representing 

a decrease of 48.67 per cent and 

47.14 per cent respectively over 

the previous quarter of Q3 2017. 

BussinessDay investigations 

however revealed there was a 55 

per cent decrease from 11,517 

incoming porters in Q3 compared 

to 5,177 in Q4 2017. 

9mobile also accounted for the 

least total numbers outgoing subscribers 

to other Networks with 

1,447, followed by Glo with 1,848 

while Airtel and Mtn recorded 

the highest number of outgoing 

customers at 2,760 and 2,775 respectively. 

Notwithstanding the tremendous 

increase in the subscribers 

N0.48 &-4percent, 0.46 &-8percent, 

N0.47 & -6 percent, N0.42K 

& -16percent, N0.48 & -4 percent, 

and N0.37 & -26percent respectively 

. 

that ported into the network in 

Q4 of 2017, the embattled company 

ranked the lowest in the total 

number of network subscribers 

among its peers. 

In the fourth quarter, the four 

largest voice communication 

providers were MTN, Globacom, 

Airtel and 9Mobile contributed 

to 36.14 per cent, 26.39per cent, 

25.74per cent and 11.72per cent 

of the total telecom communication 

subscriptions respectively. 

Total Active Voice Subscriptions 

in the fourth quarter of 2017 

decreased by 6.12 per cent when 

compared with the same quarter 

of 2016, from to 154,529,780 in 

2016 Q4 to 145,065,953 in Q4, 

2017. The figure also indicates a 

3.69 per cent increase from the 

number reported in the third 

quarter of 2017. 

Among the top four network 

providers, Airtel, 9mobile (EMTS) 

and MTN only specialise in GSM 

technology, while Globacom operates 

both in the GSM and Fixed/ 

Fixed Wireless Telecommunication 

technology space. 

South West states recorded the 

highest active voice subscriptions 

with a total subscription of44, 465, 

508 active voice subscriptions. 

Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states 

were the top three states and 

jointly accounted for 25.06 per 

cent of the total voice subscription 

of the country. Lagos led 

the pack with 19,417,181 total 

active voice subscriptions and 

19,118,767 GSM users by the end 

of the fourth quarter, equalling 

13.18 per cent of the total nationwide 

subscriptions. 

Following the top three states 

were Kano with 7,382,805;Kaduna 

with 6,642,801 and Rivers 

Before now, a stock could not 

drop below its N050 par value, 

even if the owner was willing to 

sell below that price just to cash 

out. However, stocks became 

with 5,456,860. Bayelsa state accounted 

for the lowest number 

of active voice subscriptions in 

the quarter under review, with 

954,353. 

The telecom company failed to 

reach an agreement on possible 

repayment plans with 13 Nigerian 

banks, where it took out a $1.2billion 

medium term syndicated 

loan facility in May of 2013, with 

the hope to refinance the existing 

commercial medium term debt of 

$650 million, but missed payment 

in February 2017, due to an economic 

downturn and scarcity of 

foreign exchange in the country. 

exposed to low valuation when 

NSE removed the decades-old par 

value price floor of 50K. 

The NSE introduced new 

pricing methodology and par 

value rule, which was approved 

by the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (SEC) and it became 

effective from Monday, January 

29 2018. 

The policy specifies that the 

price of every share listed on 

The Exchange shall be determined 

by the market forces and 

equities may now trade below 

the erstwhile price floor of fifty 

Kobo (N0.50) per unit and as 

such, the removal of price floor 

is expected that investors have 

better opportunities to dispose 

of stocks that they have held 

for far too long because of the 

price floor. 

Meanwhile, other insurance 

companies like AIICO Insurance 

Plc, Mansard Insurance 

Plc (formerly known as GTAssure), 

Linkage Assurance Plc and 

N.E.M Insurance Plc had their 

share price above 50K and also 

their YtD return outperforming 

the NSE All-Share index of 11.32 

percent. 

AIICO Insurance Plc had its 

share price at 75K and a YtD return 

of 44.23 percent, Mansard 

Insurance Plc, Linkage Assurance 

Plc and N.E.M Insurance Plc had 

both their share price and YtD 

return of 2.75K &42.49 percent, 

92K & 39.39 percent and 1.9K & 

14.46 percent respectively, as at 

market close Friday 23 February 

2018. 

This forced the Etisalat group to 

terminate a management agreement 

with its Nigerian arm, given 

the business time to phase out the 

Etisalat brand in Nigeria after its 

appointment of a new management 

board to run operations. 

As a result, the telecom had 

to select a new brand name and 

identity, which it says is not a 

product of chance, but was carefully 

thought out and deliberated 

to represent its ‘Nigerianess’ 

(Naija-centricity) from the 0809ja 

heritage and the fact that it has 

operated in Nigeria for nine years. 

Last week, BussinessDay reported 

Barclays Africa has officially 

written to Teleology holding 

limited, informing the company 

that it is the preferred bidder for 

the 9mobile sale. 

In the letter sent to Teleology 

holdings, Barclays Africa, the financial 

adviser to the consortium 

of banks owed $1.2billion dollars 

by 9mobile (formerly Etisalat) said 

they had reviewed all bids submitted 

and recommends Teleology as 

the preferred bidder. The company 

was then asked to make a nonrefundable 

financial deposit of $50 

million dollars within the next 21 

days to seal the deal.


Start-Up Digest 

BUSINESS DAY 

37 

Meet Akintunde Oyebode, the 

man who funds Lagos SMEs 

ODINAKA ANUDU 

If you are running a micro, 

small or medium business in 

Lagos and you need money 

for expansion, ask Akintunde 

Oyebode. 

Oyebode is the chief executive 

officer and executive secretary of 

the Lagos State Employment Trust 

Fund (LSETF), which was set up 

by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode 

to lift businesses and unemployed 

residents of the state. 

Two years into the office, Oyebode 

has shown that state of origin, 

tribe or race does not matter to him. 

As long as you have a business in 

Lagos and meet the loan requirements, 

Oyebode and his team will 

ensure you get funding. 

So far, 5,800 businesses have got 

approximately N4.9 billion from 

LSETF. He believes that by end of 

March this year, the number of 

businesses that have accessed loans 

will have been raised to 8,000. This 

number will have hit 15,000 by the 

end of the year. 

How does it feel to superintend 

such revolution in Lagos? 

“It is incredibly fulfilling for me 

to see small businesses get access 

to funding without bias, without 

nepotism, without nepotism. 

“It has been superb and exciting. 

We have been able to support 

thousands of businesses, so it is 

rewarding and fulfilling to see a lot 

of our work starting to show signs 

of delivering some value,” he tells 

Start-Up Digest in an exclusive 

interview. 

What exactly are Oyebode and 

his team looking for in a loan applicant? 

“We are looking for credibility. 

We are looking for those who have 

not misrepresented their performance. 

We are looking for clarity; 

people who know exactly what they 

are using the loan for, without inflating 

the cost of goods or services they 

want to pay for,” he explains. 

“We are looking for people who 

can repay their loans; people who 

can show that if they get the loans, 

they have a clear way of paying 

back. We are looking for people 

who, when we go and do credit 

checks, they have not been owing 

banks without repaying; they have 

not issued bounced cheques or lied 

about where they live or the size of 

their businesses. If you are selling 

20 loaves of bread a day, you have 

not told us you sell 200 loaves,” he 

further explains. 

The executive secretary says the 

LSETF verifies all the claims of applicants 

and does not necessarily 

make impossible demands. 

“We are not asking anybody to 

bring their grandmother’s hair or 

for a collateral, but we are asking for 

integrity. This is tax payers’ funded 

project, so we need to show we are 

looking at the right things to ensure 

we get value from it,” he says. 

The LSETF does not just give out 

loans without providing capacity 

development. 

In affiliation with the United 

Nations Development Programme 

(UNDP), the LSETF trains 10,000 

Lagosians under the Employability 

Support Project. 

The agency has already trained 

600 people and will add 10,000 more 

Akintunde Oyebode 

by the end of 2018. 

It has also launched Lagos Innovate, 

which is designed to support 

innovation and tech start-ups in 

Lagos. Two programmes have also 

been launched and another—an 

accelerator programme—will be 

launched in April this year. 

“For the loan programme, we 

train you after we give you an offer 

letter. And that is a compulsory 

bootcamp to ensure you know how 

to run a business. But for our employability 

programme, we are 

training and placing people in jobs. 

We have gone to the industry and 

asked, ‘What jobs do you have skillsgap 

and struggling to fill?’ We are 

training people and placing them 

on those jobs. We are also giving 

people the opportunity of getting 

jobs. It is not a guarantee that you 

will get jobs but we try to provide 

jobs for them at the completion of 

training,” he elucidates. 

The LSETF is targeted at creating 

more and more jobs. The institution 

monitors, evaluates and 

periodically tracks job creation. 

But how does it ensure that people 

who get loans actually create jobs? 

“We track how they are putting 

people in the tax register. So it is not 

just enough for you to say you are 

employing people. Are they paying 

taxes? What kind of jobs are they 

doing? So we have an independent 

business development partner who 

will go in there to understand what 

is going on. But we also have the 

tax register to validate what we get. 

Monitoring and evaluation are critical 

parts of our programme. Without 

it, it is difficult to understand what is 

working, what is not working, what 

should be stopped” he says. 

Already loan beneficiaries have 

created 8,000 jobs and there will 

have been more by April/May when 

the majority of the loans will have 

been returned. 

Oyebode says that the LSETF 

also supports start-ups but pays 

more attention to existing businesses, 

which are the mainstay of 

the economy. 

He advises that when starting 

a business, it is not proper to get a 

loan because it has conditions and 

commitment of repayment, pointing 

out that the best bet is equity. 

“But we still support start-ups 

but not in excess of N250,000. That 

is the maximum loan and that just 

reflects the risk nature of start-up 

businesses. But if you then succeed 

with the N250,000 and you pay that 

back as and when due, we can them 

move you up to a higher loan of 

up to N500,000 or N5 million,” he 

discloses. 

He says that trade and service 

players are topping the chart of loan 

beneficiaries due to the nature of 

the Lagos economy. 

However, he adds that his agency 

has funded schools, film makers, 

DJs, photographers, beauty and ICT 

payers, among many others. 

Oyeode hopes to increase the 

loan book from N4.9 billion today 

to N10 billion by the end of 2018, 

but he says that the funding is insufficient 

in relation to demands. 

“We can do more if we receive 

donations from well-meaning institutions 

and individuals. The numbers 

I am giving you is based on the 

funding we expect to receive from 

the state. We call on well-meaning 

institutions and individuals who 

want to solve the job situation in 

Lagos to partner with us. With our 

funding and yours, we can go a 

little bit further than if we are in this 

journey alone,” he says. 

Compare the number of people 

seeking loans with number who get 

loans and you get 25 percent. 

This is a function of the capital 

the agency has available and a 

reflection of the readiness of busi- 

nesses, he says. 

“To be fair, of the businesses we 

say ‘no’ to, half of them are not in 

any way ready to take loans. They 

haven’t shown the required readiness; 

their documentation does not 

suggest that they can pay back their 

loans,” he reveals. 

The good news is that those who 

are taking loans are repaying them, 

which is why repayment rate today 

is over 90 percent. 

The LSETF is N25 billion over 

a four-year period. The executive 

director believes that with what is 

being put on ground, the funding 

would outlive the Ambode-led administration. 

He further says that the twoyear 

journey of the LSETF has been 

outstanding. 

“I think it is a great start and a 

reminder that there is a lot more to 

do. It is a reminder of what possibilities 

are if we do things correctly. 

Even in such a short period, we are 

getting some very good testimonies 

about how these funds have helped 

them. If we do 10 times what we 

are doing today, the impact on the 

Lagos economy will be tremendous. 

That is what I always share with my 

team, that if we have done this little 

and got some feedback, imagine if 

we do five, 10 times, what the impact 

on Lagos economy will be.” 

Oyebode was head of SMEs at 

Stanbic IBTC. Start-Up Digest asks 

him to compare his experience then 

and now. 

“They are both rewarding experiences. 

When I was working in Stanbic 

IBTC, we pioneered unsecured 

lending in the SME space, and I 

found it rewarding going round the 

country, listening to people tell me 

how the funding we were giving 

them were making them significantly 

grow their businesses. I am 

now working for the government. 

It is also incredibly rewarding to 

hear people across Lagos tell us 

how these funds have changed 

their lives. I think the big difference 

between my previous job and now 

is that in this role, we are allowed 

to finance start-ups and we provide 

the loans at the concessionary rate 

of five percent, which means that it 

is likely to be more impactful,” he 

explains. 

The executive secretary feels 

that the challenge he faces at the 

moment is normal. 

“I think the biggest challenge we 

have faced is just the normal challenge 

of setting up a new enterprise, 

ensuring that we could hire the 

right people and ensuring we get 

the word out there, that this loan is 

available. It has been very fulfilling, 

but it has fewer challenges than I 

had earlier expected. It is a testament 

of the work of the board led by 

Ifueko Omoigui Okaru, who helped 

us set the exceptional governance 

framework, and also to the praise of 

the governor who followed through 

this vision of setting up this funding 

it appropriately. Despite a difficult 

economic condition, even when 

the economy was in recession, the 

governor was able to find funding 

for us. I think he deserves some 

credit,” he states. 

He likewise commends the 

work of the Presidential Enabling 

Business Environment Council 

(PEBEC), whose landmark has 

impacted Lagos. Oyebode believes 

that funding is a big challenge facing 

entrepreneurs, but not necessarily 

the biggest. 

“It is one of the biggest problems 

because they are also trying to solve 

other problems. They are also trying 

to get new markets, and expand access 

to markets. It is one thing to get 

capital but another thing to sell your 

goods and services,” he says.



C002D5556 


Nigerian entrepreneurs redefine 

furniture-making, interior decoration 

ODINAKA ANUDU 

Nigerian entrepreneurs 

are increasingly 

showing that 

opportunities in 

the country are 

only being scratched. Many of 

them are introducing innovations, 

redefining the sector that 

was once known as ‘old men’s 

industry’. 

In the furniture-making industry, 

which is a critical part 

of interior decoration, Blessing 

Ohikhena Sule has proved that 

a woman can do whatever a 

man can. 

Sule is the chief executive 

of the Lagos-based AASIS Resources 

Nigeria Limited and 

is not ashamed to be called a 

‘carpenter’. 

A graduate of Computer Science 

from the University of 

Benin, Blessing also holds an Ordinary 

National Diploma (OND) 

in Accounting from the Federal 

Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State. 

The Edo State-born entrepreneur 

started with just N2000. She 

was motivated to set up her own 

business few years ago because 

she always wanted to force herself 

out of poverty. 

“I have always wanted to be 

my own boss. I grew up with all 

men and have always wanted to 

better my life to kill poverty. One 

thing I know, for sure, is that if 

you don’t build your business, 

someone will employ you to 

build theirs,” she tells Start-Up 

Digest. 

The entrepreneur says that 

there is a lot of money to make 

from furniture-making. She gets 

international models from the 

Internet and designs them. 

Through her work, Blessing 

has courted customers from 

various spheres of life, including 

bank workers, civil servants, 

friends and family. 

Many low-income Nigerians 

are asking 

repeatedly about 

businesses they can 

start with N100,000 or less. We 

will try to present three of these 

businesses and why they do 

not necessarily need so much 

money to start. 

Fashion and design 

What is basically needed 

before starting this business 

is training. You need six to 12 

months’ training and you must 

constantly look out for new designs 

on the Internet. You can 

start this business at home. All 

you need is a sewing machine, 

which costs less than N40, 000 

now. It is, however, important to 

note that you can start this business 

with less than N100,000, 

but someone with deep-pocket 

can also start with N5 or N10 

million. It all depends on how 

much you have. Yejide Elugbaju, 

founder and CEO of Rivah 

Beauty Limited, told Start-Up 

Digest that she started her outfit 

Blessing Ohikhena Sule 

The social media has also 

greatly helped her, having been 

marketing her furniture products 

via Facebook and other 

platforms, while also putting her 

handbills on church bulletins. 

In terms of what is trending in 

the furniture industry, Blessing 

says it is what is called ‘Strictly 

Antique’. She states that patronage 

of locally made furniture is 

slow owing to consumer preferences 

and petty considerations. 

On where she wants to be in 

five years’ time, Blessing says she 

sees herself owning a big factory. 

Next is Marvis Marshal Idio, 

chief executive of the Port Harcourt-based 

Jacmavis, which 

deals in interior design, furniture-making 

and construction 

in general. 

Though the Imo State-born 

entrepreneur has been in the industry 

for a few years, she came 

into prominence in December 

of 2016 after winning Season 3 

of The Next Titan organised by 

Heritage Bank. 

A graduate of Architecture 

from University of Uyo, and 

with second degree in Interior 

Designs from Florence Designs 

Academy, Italy, Idio walked off 

from that competition with N5 

million, and a brand new Ford 

Ecosport from Coscharis Motors. 

One major reason why she 

won the prize was her capacity 

to turn what is commonly called 

‘trash’ into raw materials for 

her interior designs and artistic 

works. Hence she converts waste 

products into goods that are 

sought-after. 

Her target is to create an African 

interior decoration brand 

that will be affordable and environmentally 

friendly. 

She wants to always create 

value for the environment and 

support others to manage wastes. 

By so doing, the country will have 

fewer wastes and jobs will be 

created along the collection and 

conversion value chains. 

Her plan is to turn wastes to 

wealth, which is when the commonest 

things anyone sees in her 

factory in Port Harcourt, Rivers 

State, are used tyres, cardboard 

sheets, pet bottles and old furniture 

pieces, among others. 

Another entrepreneur that 

is making waves in the interior 

decoration industry is Mimi 

Shodeinde, chief executive of 

Minimat Designs. 

Shodeinde holds a degree in 

Interior Architecture at Heriot 

Watt University in Edinburgh, 

the UK. 

She is based in the UK but is 

truly Nigerian. Her artistic work 

is not only meant for those in the 

UK but also people in Nigeria 

and other parts of the world. 

She started as an artist and 

interior designer and her firm 

specialises in furniture and 

product design for commercial 

and residential projects in the 

UK and globally. 

“My hope is that Miminat 

will have a global platform with 

stakes in the commercial, hospitality 

sector, government spaces, 

art spaces, private spaces 

and residential projects. I want 

people to recognise my designs 

from their distinctive style. Given 

the wide breadth of the design 

industry, it would be a shame 

to limit it to any one particular 

industry or sector,” she tells lionessesofafrica.com, 

which profiles 

African female entrepreneurs. 

“Exclusivity is synonymous 

with design, but this is something 

I want to challenge. I want 

anyone who is interested in my 

designs, the stories behind the 

designs, to be able to have one 

of my products in their home. 

Personal and financial status 

should not prevent anyone from 

buying one of my designs; I want 

to break the mould on the concept 

of exclusive design for high 

society.” 

Interior design is not exclusive 

to female entrepreneurs. 

Chukwubuike Nnoli, chief executive 

of Zubnol Investment 

Limited, is also making waves in 

the industry. 

Nnoli manufactures interior 

decoration products and supplies 

them to retail stores, open 

markets and several outlets. 

Zubnol produces ‘throw pillows’, 

bed sheets, baby duvets 

and embroidery products. His 

basic business is to buy raw 

materials, which can be in unfinished 

or semi-finished forms, 

and turn them into finished pillows, 

bed sheets and duvets used 

in homes, offices and hospitals. 

Based in Awka, Anambra 

State, Nnoli’s products are supplied 

to distributors and several 

outlets that, in turn, sell to final 

consumers. Zubnol Investment 

Limited started in 2011 with 

N190,000 as Zubnol Ventures. 

The fund was used to acquire 

materials. 

From N190, 000, the business 

has now grown to over N3 

million, supplying products to 

over 10 outlets located across 

the country. 

“Our target is to capture the 

local market and the West African 

market,” the entrepreneur 

tells Start-Up Digest. 

“One of the key feedbacks we 

get is that our products are well 

designed and durable,” he says. 

“We are in many stores already 

and demand is already 

overshooting supply,” he discloses. 

“Our target is to satisfy the 

burgeoning local demand and 

then export to earn foreign exchange. 

This, with God, will 

happen soon,” he says. 

3 businesses you can start with N100,000 or less 

ODINAKA ANUDU 

in January of 2016 with N50,000. 

Laundry 

You can start by servicing 

the needs of family and friends. 

Here is a testimony of the Kwara 

State-born Abubakar Sodeek 

Arekemashe, a 27- year- old 

student, who is now the chief 

executive officer of a laundry 

outfit called Sky Limit. 

“When the idea came to my 

mind, I discussed it with my 

friends. I told them I wanted 

to start a laundry business. 

They called it an inferior business. 

But I let them realise 

that it was nothing to me and 

I started it on 24th February, 

2017 with just N200.00. It was 

easy for me because I had iron, 

laundry basket, regular water 

supply and electricity. Out of 

the money, I bought soap and 

starch, then started with three 

clothes. Today, I am getting a 

number of people who patronise 

me,” Arekemashe told Start-Up 

Digest. 

Online Business 

Many digital businesses that 

you find in Europe, China, India 

and USA are still not here. A 

lot of Nigerians are raking in 

millions through online sales, 

and payment platforms, among 

others. 

Bamidele Onibalusi is the 

founder of Deloni Enterprise, 

an online business. Onibalusi 

started the business with N15, 

000, which he used to register 

his website and purchase hosting. 

Hear his testimony to Start- 

Up Digest: 

“I mainly deal with clients 

and customers in Europe, America 

and other parts of the world. 

I also earn my income in dollars 

and convert at the current exchange 

rate. This ensures that 

the recession in Nigeria has little 

or no impact on me.


Omowaire Oluwatosin 

Sanni Sheriff 

Oluwatosin and Sanni: Tapping 

opportunities in catering industry 

JOSEPHINE OKOJIE ed her business with 10,000 problems around and turn in 2015. 

last year and was able to get them into value that could Sanni started his business 

with just N10, 000, 

Planning an event a startup fund from Women 

in Business and Public “The food industry is an amount he spent on 

be exchanged for income. 

can be extremely 

stressful. This is Service (WIMBIZ) in 2016 wide with so many prospects. 

One of the untapped name, printing banners 

registering his business 

why many people to embark on a studentfocused 

food project. parts is the making of natu- 

and invoice. With referral 

have resorted to 

outsourcing some aspects Currently, the business rally sourced food seasoning 

and herbals, which can he was able to break even. 

from family and friends, 

of it. 

has grown remarkably and 

But a lot of people are is worth about N750, 000. be exported to earn foreign “I was also inspired by 

very skeptical when it This feat was achieved seven exchange,” Oluwatosin said. my dad who operates a marine 

engineering services 

comes to hiring catering months after registration. Sanni Sheriff 

companies as many have She has three full-time staff Sanni Sheriff is the firm. He always wanted to 

ruined their events with members and hires parttime 

workers at times deen 

Limited. He is a caterer more value to the brand 

founder of Sannikayz Kitch- 

grow his business and add 

poor delivery and creativity. 

To change all that for pending on the projects she with vast experience in and himself. This also 

clients and event planners, is handling. 

event services and currently drove my passion for rendering 

services to people,” 

Oluwatosin and Sanni, two When asked about the runs a mobile restaurant 

young entrepreneurs in the challenge confronting her and event catering services he said. 

catering and service industry, 

have stepped up their Start-up Digest that lack An engineering graduate staff members working 

business, Oluwatosin told in Lagos. 

He currently has three 

game through the power of of finance was the greatest of the University of Lagos, with him and over 20 parttime 

workers who also 

creativity, providing relief challenge. 

Sanni started his journey 

for customers. 

She urged the Federal as an entrepreneur in 2011 work with him, especially 

Omowaire Oluwatosin Government to provide when he began his mobile at weekends when demand 

Omowaire Oluwatosin adequate grants and loan restaurant business on campus 

as an undergraduate. The engineer turned ca- 

for his services are high. 

is the founder and chief executive 

officer of My Dinner entrepreneurship mindsets. The demand for his serterer 

has not had it all rosy 

opportunities to youths with 

Hub, a catering and event Oluwatosin also said that vices was very high and after as he contends with high 

management firm focused high cost of food items and the undergraduate study, prices of food items in the 

on food delivery, event and inadequate power supply he established Sannikayz country and low purchasing 

power of consumers. 

personal catering services. were also key issues. 

Kitchen in 2014. 

Oluwatosin, a 500 level She sources her raw materials 

from local markets so many awards, including leptic power supply in 

Sanni is a recipient of He also said the epi- 

Crop, Soil and Pest Management 

undergraduate of across the country. 

the Under-30 Achievers the country was a very big 

the Federal University of The caterer, who is also Awards in 2013, and Creative 

Man of the Year by the business as it had shot up 

challenge confronting his 

Technology, Akure (FUTA), a farmer, stated that her 

started trade at the age of 10. business had been able to University of Lagos Engineering 

Society Awards. He “Our business has grown 

his cost of production. 

She went into trade when grow because it brought local 

cuisines in an attractive is the Best Entrepreneur in tremendously since we 

he mother could not earn 

enough money to provide style, guaranteeing customer 

satisfaction through ton Entrepreneur of the opened another brand of 

2014, nominated as Shera- 

started and we have even 

for her siblings after the 

demise of her father. 

excellent service delivery. year at the African Youth business. Our target client 

In a bid to help herself The entrepreneur also Choice Awards in 2014 is corporate bodies and everybody 

who is interested in 

and assist her siblings, Oluwatosin 

started cooking she would tell her younger Enterprising Youth at the our services,” he said. 

told Start-up Digest that and the Most Promising 

food for people. After few self to be open to identify Nigerian Achievers Awards “We have been serving 

years of doing this, Oluwatosin 

was able to save 

January and it has really 

the corporate class since 

enough to pursue her undergraduate 

degree. Our business has grown tremen- 

customers in Access Bank, 

been adventurous. We have 

At the university, she 

Stanbic IBTC, Investment 

went into cooking for dously since we started and we 

One, Integrated Supply 

birthdays, get-together and 

have even opened another brand Chain, Akintola Deloitte, 

events. After making encouraging 

profits for years, of business. Our target client is We have also acquired more 

PWC , just to mention a few. 

Oluwatosin decided to establish 

her business in 2016, corporate bodies and everybody family, friends and inves- 

assets. With support from 

giving it the name ‘My Dinner 

Hub.’ 

who is interested in our services 

tors, the business is now 

worth about N5 million,” 

The undergraduate start- 

he added. 


Rosemary’s fusion 

showcase opens in Abuja 

Rosemary, an award 

winning interior 

design company, 

has announced 

the opening of its 2018 

fusion showcase in Abuja. 

According to Ezinne 

Kufre-Ekanem, group 

managing director/CEO, 

in a press statement made 

available to BusinessDay, 

the 2018 fusion showcase 

is a way through which the 

organisation bonds with its 

discerning clientele while 

celebrating the Ultra Violet, 

the colour of the year. 

“Ultra violet is a dramatically 

provocative and 

thoughtful shade of purple. 

It inspires creativity and 

invites us to think outside 

the box. These characteristics 

of Ultra Violet, the 2018 

Colour of the Year, further 

reinforce the five elements 

of our core values at Rosemary: 

creativity, accountability, 

newness, drive and 

openness,” Ezinne said. 

“They communicate 

originality, ingenuity and 

visionary thinking that 

point us towards the future. 

And where there is a 

Investment opportunity 

Livestock feeds production 

OLUMAKINDE ONI 

Seventy percent of 

the cost of producing 

proteins of animal 

sources can be attributed 

to animal feeds. Investment 

in animal feedstuff 

preparation will therefore 

contribute greatly to the development 

of animal protein 

supply in the country. 

The viability of any 

project is a function of raw 

materials availability, market 

potential and management. 

Raw materials for 

animal feeds ingredients 

are abound in Nigeria. These 

include among others maize, 

whole wheat, oyster shells, 

bone meal, maize, soya cake, 

groundnut cake, palm kernel 

cake and a host of others. 

Market for animal feeds is 

also limitless. Animal feeds 

requirement in Nigeria (both 

low and high) nutritional 

planes are not less than 4 

million metric tons on annual 

basis. Not only this, 

animals feedstuff can be 

exported for a good price. 

In this regard, anything that 

is produced is automatically 

consumed. The requirement 

in terms of manpower is not 

demanding. This is because 

the production process involved 

in the preparation 

of feedstuff is very simple. 

The project can easily be 

managed by middle level 

BUSINESS DAY 

39 

future, then there is hope. 

All of these and more will 

be on display through our 

items and hospitality during 

the two-day 2018 Fusion 

Showcase,” she further 

said. 

Also speaking, Doosuur 

Okorie, operations manager, 

Rosemary’s Abuja 

office said, “We are happy 

to host the first ever Rosemary’s 

fusion showcase in 

the Abuja outlet.” 

“Being the latest Rosemary’s 

community, it is 

a privilege for us and we 

look forward to receiving 

our clientele with the true 

essence of Rosemary’s and 

the values of Ultra Violet. It 

will be a two-day walk-in 

program flexible enough 

to accommodate the busy 

and diverse schedules of 

our customers, from corporates, 

hotels to individuals 

and families,” Okorie 

added. 

The fusion showcase 

is scheduled to hold from 

Friday, February 23rd to 

Saturday, February 24th, 

2018 in Abuja. 

manpower. 

The profitability of the 

project is not in doubt, substantial 

returns on investment 

are guaranteed. 

In view of the above, this 

project is strongly recommended 

to serious minded 

investors who are desirous 

of capitalising on viable investment 

opening and at 

the same time contributing 

positively to Nigeria’s 

economic development by 

creating real investments, 

job opportunities and more 

food to feed Nigerians. 

Technical information 

The feeds ingredients in 

mind are bone meal, oyster 

shells, soya cake and cassava 

meals, maize, wheat offal’s 

groundnut cake, etc. Their 

preparation involves installation 

of feed mill equipment 

and the materials are 

subsequently processed to 

be sold to livestock farmers. 

Such as poultry farmers, piggery 

farmers, cattle farmers, 

fish farmers, sheep and goat 

farmers. 

To establish the project, 

the first step is the preparation 

of comprehensive 

feasibility report showing 

technical, financial and market 

details of the project. It 

is also a guide in the course 

of project implementation. 

This is followed by procurement 

of appropriate site and 

machines. On installation 

of machines, appropriate 

personnel are recruited. This 

is followed by procurement 

of raw materials for onward 

processing. Serious minded 

investors can be guided accordingly 

to successfully 

establish the project. 

Contact: 08023058045, 

08152596985, 08033660177, 

olumakindeoni@yahoo.com



MondayMorning 

In association with 

Harvard 

Business 

Review 

We need to approach artificial intelligence 

risks like we do natural disasters 

PRASHANTH GANGU 

The risks posed by 

intelligent devices 

will soon surpass 

the magnitude of risks 

associated with natural 

disasters. Tens of billions 

of connected sensors are 

being embedded in everything 

ranging from industrial 

robots and safety 

systems to self-driving 

cars and refrigerators. 

Our growing reliance on 

so many intelligent, connected 

devices is opening 

up the possibility of global-scale 

shutdowns. 

INTELLIGENT DEVICE 

RECOVERY PLANS: 

As with the risks associated 

with natural disasters, 

companies cannot completely 

protect against 

smart-device risks by buying 

insurance; they must 

have worst-case scenario 

recovery plans. Managers 

have to figure out their 

higher and lower risk intelligent 

device vulnerabilities, 

add in redundant 

systems and potentially 

set up the A.I. equivalent 

of tsunami early-warning 

systems. In addition, they 

need the ability to switch 

to manually controlled 

environments in case artificially 

intelligent systems 

have to be shut down, 

and to recall faulty smart 

products. 

INSURANCE PRODUCTS 

AND SERVICES: 

Insurers should quantify 

their exposure to a global 

intelligent device meltdown, 

offer new products 

and advise companies 

and governments. 

As they have for natural 

catastrophes, insurers 

can also encourage 

public sector safeguards. 

Since insurers cannot 

completely mitigate the 

outsized risks posed by 

extreme weather events, 

governments of many 

developed countries and 

international organizations 

provide natural ca- 

tastrophe relief through 

government agencies. 

Insurers need to help mo- 

bilize similar public sector 

resources to help the 

potential victims of an 

Are the most innovative companies just the ones with the most data? 

A.I.-enabled smart device 

disaster. 

INTERNATIONAL PRO- 

TOCOLS: 

Finally, policymakers 

should establish international 

trust and ethics 

guidelines to govern the 

development and implementation 

of ever more 

advanced A.I. products 

and systems. To reduce 

the future impact from 

natural disasters, governments 

and international 

organizations like the Red 

Cross and the World Bank 

collect and share data concerning 

the destructive 

ramifications and the support 

required to help victims. 

Similar intelligence 

will be critical to curb the 

impact of potential smart 

device shocks as artificial 

intelligence evolves. 

(Prashanth Gangu is a 

partner in the insurance 

and digital practices at 

Oliver Wyman.) 

VIKTOR MAYER- 

SCHÖNBERGER AND 

THOMAS RAMGE 

The cases of startups 

with superior ideas 

dethroning well-established 

incumbents are 

legion. For decades, “creative 

destruction” ensured 

competitive markets and a 

constant stream of new innovation. 

But what if that is 

no longer the case? 

The trouble is that the 

source of innovation is shifting 

from human ingenuity 

to data-driven machine 

learning. Of course, it takes 

plenty of talented, creative 

people to build these products. 

But their improvement 

is driven less by human “a 

ha” moments than by data, 

and improvements in how 

machines learn from it. 

Sometimes companies 

have to go out and collect a 

specific kind of data; think 

of Google’s cars roaming 

the streets of Silicon Valley. 

And sometimes companies 

pay for access to data so that 

their systems can learn. But 

more often than not the data 

that fuels innovation is being 

generated by users interacting 

with an existing digital 

service. When we accept Siri’s 

suggestion, it’s feedback 

to Siri that she got it right. 

If innovation is founded 

on data rather than human 

ideas, the firms that benefit 

are the ones that have access 

to the most data. Therefore, 

in many instances, innovation 

will no longer be a 

countervailing force to market 

concentration and scale. 

Instead, innovation will be a 

force that furthers them. 

The specter of companies 

with access to data becoming 

data-driven innovation 

leaders, leaving smaller 

competitors and startups 

behind in the dust, should 

concern policymakers intent 

on ensuring that markets 

stay dynamic and competitive. 

Their challenge is less to 

realize the problem than to 

devise a solution that keeps 

markets competitive without 

stifling data-driven innovation 

on the whole. 

For many innovative 

companies, the next few 

years will be a time of reck- 

oning: As the power of datadriven 

innovation increases, 

these more conventional innovators 

will have to find access 

to data to continue to innovate. 

That necessitates at 

least two huge adjustments. 

First, they need to reposition 

themselves in the data value 

chain to gain and secure data 

access. Second, as innovation 

moves from human insight 

to data-driven machine 

learning, firms need to reorganize 

their internal innovation 

culture, emphasizing 

machine learning opportunities 

and putting in place 

data exploitation processes. 

(Viktor Mayer-Schönberger 

is professor at Oxford. 

Thomas Ramge is technology 

correspondent for brand 

eins and also writes for the 

Economist.) 

(C) (2017) Harvard Business Review. Distributed by New York Times Syndicate


This is M NEY 

A daily guide to your Personal Finance 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

• Savings 

• Travel 

• Debt & Borrowing 

• Utilities 

• Managing your Tax 

41 

Do you still carry wads 

of bank notes around? 

Do you still 

carry wads of 

naira notes 

in your wallet 

or under 

your mattress at home or 

have you embraced technology? 

The Central Bank 

of Nigerias (CBN) cashless 

policy commenced on 

January 1, 2012 in a phased 

approach that featured 

Lagos as the pilot state 

because of its financial 

sophistication, the presence 

of an enabling infrastructure, 

volume of cash 

transactions and exposure 

of residents to alternative 

payment channels. Phase 

two followed on July 1, 

2013 in the Federal Capital 

Territory, Abia, Anambra, 

Kano, Ogun and Rivers 

States. 

The planned nationwide 

implementation was 

postponed in 2017, to allow 

for the deployment 

of infrastructure needed 

to support the policy and 

accelerate the process of 

migrating towards electronic 

cards and mobile 

payments in the remaining 

states. This will also 

allow some more time to 

further sensitize the public 

and change attitudes in 

a society that has a prevailing 

cash culture. 

All over the world, the 

trend has been for governments 

and financial 

institutions to pursue policies 

to reduce the volume 

of cash in the system. In 

some developed countries 

one can do almost entirely 

without the use of hard 

cash and electronic means 

of payments far outstrip 

cash transactions in much 

of the industrialized world 

today; indeed when you 

are abroad, it can be quite 

embarrassing and you 

may be regarded with 

consternation, if you wish 

to make a purchase with 

large amounts of cash. Nigeria 

cannot afford to be 

left behind in this trend. 

As we inch closer towards 

cashless Nigeria 

where digital or electronic 

money will eventually take 

precedence over physical 

money, how prepared are 

you? How would you feel 

if you were told that you 

would no longer be able 

to use paper money and 

would have to rely on electronic 

technology for all 

your transactions? We all 

like the speed and convenience 

of e-commerce, who 

doesn’t like the look and 

feel of hard cash in our 

hands and wallets; particularly 

new bank notes! It is 

tangible, it feels real and it 

gives one a sense of really 

possessing something! 

Technology has 

changed so much in our 

lives, the greatest impact 

being the actual way that 

transactions take place. 

The world of banking and 

finance has been one of 

the greatest beneficiaries 

of technological innovations 

and advancements 

in global payment systems. 

It is exciting to see 

how millions of Nigerians 

transact business 

now; gone are the days 

when we would queue for 

hours at the bank waiting 

to withdraw some cash. A 

visit to the bank took half 

your day! The emergence 

of a Financial Technology 

Companies FinTechs 

has played a critical role 

in transforming our payments 

systems through 

the innovative use of technology. 

We should all be deliberate 

about becoming 

familiar with some of the 

great apps that our banks 

have developed, internet 

banking, digital payments, 

agency banking; all these 

innovative solutions seek 

to address the biggest 

challenge of inclusion and 

reach ensuring that everyone 

has access to banking 

services without necessarily 

having brick and mortar 

banks in every corner 

of our vast nation. 

There are many benefits 

from doing away with 

old fashioned cash. It is a 

means of curbing corruption, 

money laundering 

and other cash related 

financial crimes, global 

terrorism and cross-border 

crimes. It also helps 

to address the enormous 

security challenges and 

the exorbitant cost of cash 

management to the banking 

industry. 

Businesses embrace 

technology as a means 

of receiving instant payments, 

cutting their expenses 

and institutionalizing 

operational efficiency, 

thereby increasing their 

revenues. As individuals, 

we should embrace electronic, 

internet and mobile 

banking for the speed, 

convenience, security, and 

the efficiency that they 

provide. 

The internet has revolutionized 

banking and 

personal financial management 

in many ways. 

Nowadays, we are all so 

busy in our work lives, that 

there often isnt the time to 

visit the bank. If you have 

not yet embraced your 

banks internet banking 

service, there are some 

compelling reasons to 

do so. With internet connectivity, 

you have unlimited 

access to your bank 

accounts and can carry 

out most of your routine 

banking transactions at 

your convenience; you 

can check your account 

balances, pay bills, make 

transfers, and manage 

your various accounts 

with a few simple clicks 

from your laptop or computer, 

your I-pad, or your 

cell phone. 

Do you use your banks 

electronic banking services, 

which automate 

processes relating to your 

financial transactions 

for convenience, and efficiency? 

The most common 

forms of electronic 

payments are telephone 

There are so many 

alternatives to 

cash; explore 

and become 

familiar with 

the alternative 

electronic payment 

channels available 

to you and decide 

which will best 

suit your personal 

financial habits 

and circumstances 

banking, internet-banking 

and plastic cards; credit 

cards, debit cards and automatic 

teller machine 

(ATM) cards, instead of 

currency. 

Debit and credit cards, 

have transformed our financial 

lives; one can effect 

a host of transactions 

without ever having to 

visit a bank. Whether it 

is from a Point of Service 

(POS) portal at your nearest 

grocery shop, an increasing 

number of merchants, 

including shops, 

restaurants, clubs, hotels 

etc will accept your card. 

Most of the ATM cards 

issued by Nigerian banks 

are usually from one of 

these three companies; 

Interswitchs Verve, VISA 

and Mastercard. The Naira 

Visa and Mastercard 

debit cards allow you to 

access foreign exchange 

from your Naira account 

while abroad and local 

currency while in Nigeria. 

Denominations in Naira, 

they can be used at ATMs 

or point of sale (POS) terminals 

globally where the 

Visa or Mastercard signs 

are displayed to either pay 

for goods and services or 

access foreign exchange. 

Linked to your current or 

savings account, all transactions 

reflect instantly. 

On Tuesday 27th February 

2018, Bestman Games 

in its mission to engage, 

entertain and educate 

through play, will launch 

The City of Lagos Electronic 

Banking Edition 

of Monopoly. Lagos, Africas 

fastest growing metropolis 

and an emerging 

mega city, was an obvious 

choice to reflect its cashless” 

policy on Hasbros 

iconic board game as it 

was the first Nigerian City 

for the implementation of 

the Central Bank of Nigerias 

Cashless Nigeria. 

The Monopoly Electronic 

Banking game is the 

modern spin on the classic 

Monopoly game; this 

edition reflects changes 

in how the real world uses 

money: transactions are 

conducted with Monopolys 

new banking card 

system instead of cash. 

As we inch closer towards 

a cashless economy, this 

educational board game 

shares the same philosophy: 

buy, trade, win, the 

electronic way. 

How prepared are you 

for practical improvements 

in your financial 

life? Do you still risk carrying 

wads of bank notes 

on you and in cupboards 

at home? There are so 

many alternatives to cash; 

explore and become familiar 

with the alternative 

electronic payment channels 

available to you and 

decide which will best suit 

your personal financial 

habits and circumstances. 

You cant afford to be 

left behind. Embrace technology, 

and reduce your 

dependence on cash. 

Instagram and Twitter: @ 

mmwithnimi, 

Facebook and Google+: 

‘Money Matters with 

Nimi’. 

www. 

moneymatterswithnimi. 

com, or send us 

an email info@ 


com 

Nimi Akinkugbe has 

extensive experience 

in private wealth 

management. She seeks to 

empower people regarding 

their finances and offers 

frank, practical insights to 

create a greater awareness 

and understanding of 

personal finance. 

For more personal finance 

tips, contact Nimi: 

Email: info@ 

moneymatterswithnimi 

Website: www. 


com 

Twitter: @MMWITHNIMI 

Instagram: @ 

MMWITHNIMI 

Facebook: 

MoneyMatterswithNimi



C002D5556 

Kaduna creates transport sector framework 

to fast track private investment 

PETER IBRAHIM 

Kaduna state is uniquely positioned 

to serve as a gateway between 

the north, Federal Capital Territory 

(FCT) Abuja and the western part of 

the state, thus making it the logistics 

and transportation hub of the north. 

The state’s transport sector is a high 

potential sector that could help transform 

the state’s economy as regional 

flow of goods and persons is increasing 

over years. 

As the administration of Mallam 

Nasir El-Rufai seeks private investors 

towards achieving industrialisation, 

economic growth and diversification, 

the administration took the required 

step to create a sectorial and legal 

framework, which was absent for 

decades. There is now in place a clear 

framework for the transport sector, 

thus clearing the road for the development 

of mass transit system that is 

private sector driven. 

The development and regulation 

of transportation is now under the supervision 

of Kaduna State Transport 

Regulatory Agency (KADSTRA), a 

new agency created by law to regulate 

the sector, unlike what obtained in the 

past where eight MDAs played various 

and conflicting roles in regulating 

transport. 

Ai’sha Sai’du Bala is the Pioneer 

Director General of KADSTRA. In this 

interview, she disclosed that the stage 

is now set for private sector players to 

come into the state. She said Kaduna’s 

transportation sector “is viable and 

opened for the private investors”. She 

speaks on what the state government 

to develop a modern and effective 

mass transit system in the state. 

Excerpts: 

Transport if a key player in every 

economy. We will like to know 

what has been done to develop 

the sector since the coming of this 

administration. 

The first thing we need to point out is 

that although when this government 

came in they have a rostrum of what 

it wanted to do with transport, what 

we realised was that the institutional 

framework of transportation in 

Kaduna was very flawed. So the first 

thing that we did was to go back 

and reorganised the transport sector 

which was in complete disarray 

and has not been touched for several 

decades. 

Fortunately for us DFID and the 

World Bank had done some work 

with us in the sector to assist with 

our reforms. That has taken us about 

three years which you will appreciate 

because of the history of the total 

absence of structure and regulation 

in the transport sector. It took us 

quite a while to go back to where we 

were before to try to sort the sector 

out and produce reforms as it were. 

And I am happy to report that we 

have passed a transport policy which 

has never existed in the state and we 

have cleaned up the sector because 

when this administration came up 

Ai’sha Sa’idu Bala, Pioneer DG of Kaduna State Transportation Regulatory Agency-KADSTRA. 

we actually had eight different MDs 

that were handling transportation 

matters. But we are able to clean it up 

so that the Ministry of Works, Housing 

and Transport now has created 

KADSTRA, Kaduna State Transport 

Regulatory Agency, which is new 

agency created to run the affairs of 

transportation sector 

What will the State Transport 

Regulatory Agency (KADSTRA) do 

in the state? 

Historically transport in Nigeria has 

been unregulated. As you know, 

if you own a car, a tricycles or any 

vehicle you will just register them as 

normal vehicle and just start plying 

the roads. There are no requirements 

as to what you can do with your car, 

what you as a driver can do, what 

routes you can ply what is legal and 

what is illegal for you to do? We have 

now sorted all these out. I think in Nigeria, 

Kaduna is the third state after 

Lagos and Kano that actually started 

these transports reforms with DFID. 

So what we are now going into 

as regulatory agency is to sanitise 

the sector and start regulating the 

practitioners out there. Whether it 

is a tricycle, a bus, a taxi, a train, or 

even water ways, we want to develop 

a system of regulation to sanitise the 

services that we got out there. 

The reason why we have chaos 

in Kaduna city is not because we 

have a lot of people driving. It is 

the way that we use the road; it is 

the way that the people are driving, 

where they are driving and 

what time they are driving. That is 

what KADSTRA is going to do to 

sanitise the mass transit sector for 

the peopleand for the practitioners. 

This is a sector that employs 

thousands of people so we need 

to regulate it so that we can have a 

conducive environment for those 

working in the sector. Also for the 

personages, we need to regulate 

the standards of safety, customer 

service and also pricing. This is 

where KADSTRA comes in to 

ensure that both personages and 

Ai’sha Sai’du Bala, DG KADSTRA, unveiling the Kaduna Light Rail 

corridors prototype to Governor Nasir El-Rufai and other members of 

Kaduna State Executive Council. 

practitioners are regulated. 

What is the situation of the Kaduna 

State Transport Authority 

(KSTA) which has fleets of vehicles 

operating in the state?. 

What we found was that the fundamental 

structure of KSTA was 

flawed from the start. So there is 

nothing much we can do with it. 

The Government started probably 

what suited it in the 70s. So what 

happens to KSTA is that the law establishing 

KSTA has been repealed 

and the government is now going 

to establish Kaduna line. 

The government is now making 

arrangements to have a Public 

Private Partnership (PPP) for the 

transport sector to be private 

driven. Historically, PPP arrangement 

works better in the transport 

sector and you will find that across 

the world. That is what the Kaduna 

state government is trying to do to 

establish a relationship with the 

private sector to so that we would 

not have to use public money to 

buy the buses constantly and loos 

the money and all the troubles 

we had before. So KSTA is being 

converted into Kaduna line and 

we are going into a PPP with the 

private sector. 

That brings me to the question; 

Can we now say the transport sector 

has potential for investors and 

are there investors now interested 

in coming to invest in this sector? 

I think now the sector is more attractive 

than before because we now 

have a framework that supports this. 

Three years ago we would not have 

attracted any private investment 

because we were in a position to do 

so. As an investor you want certainty 

about anything you are investing 

into; we did not know about our 

ridership, we did not know who went 

where, but we have seen some travel 

demand manifests and we have fair 

knowledge of who travels where in 

Kaduna and if you come to us as 

an investor we can tell you what is 

a lucrative route and what route is 

not lucrative. 

We have this new agency KADS- 

TRA that investors can have relationship 

with depending on what area 

of mass transit you are coming into. 

So have got the support and we got 

the framework. So it is a lot easier 

now for investors. We are absolutely 

ready, and opened for investments 

in this sector. 

So let us now talk about the light 

rail projects the Kaduna State Government 

is pursuing. Where are we 

now in realising this? 

As you know Kaduna has a population 

of some 3 million people and is 

also a growing city. It is a thoroughfair 

for so many cities in northern 

Nigeria especially. So we are looking 

into the future, where Kaduna 

will be in 20, 30 to 50 years. So we 

are looking to establish a plan with 

regard to infrastructure that would 

take Kaduna that far forward which 

is one of the reasons we look into the 

light rail project. 

As you know it is a very complex 

and costly venture but we are looking 

into starting at least a priority 

project which is starting with a corridor. 

In future starting light rail 

across the city is what is going to 

work but we are looking into starting 

a preliminary corridor on the rail 

line which is Ahmadu Bello Way, 

which is the busiest road in Kaduna 

and also in the north. That is where 

our concentration is. There is also 

an option of BRT. 

At the moment we are in talks 

with a private company to see 

about developing that system. And 

because you are putting that infrastructure 

into an established city, 

there is a lot that needs to be taken 

into consideration. The preliminary 

studies have taken place and we are 

still meeting with the company that 

is going to do this. 

We saw some positive developments 

in the sector in the state 

recently. Train services, the first 

Inland Dry Port and international 

flights services have are now operating 

in Kaduna. How does the 

state see these developments? 

We are very proud that this development 

came to Kaduna and we 

are very privileged. We are taking 

it very seriously and we will ensure 

that whatever plans or policies we 

are going to take in the future actually 

take these into consideration. 

You know if you want to develop 

transport you have to make it as 

integrative as possible. So we are 

trying to see that every step we take 

from now actually take all these 

into consideration and also make 

the most of it really to complement 

the services that are here. These developments 

will make a significant 

economic and social impact on the 

citizens of the state. 

Something that we are trying 

to do is to use Kaduna as a springboard 

of mass transits. As you know 

Kaduna state has three large cities; 

Kaduna Zaria and Kafanchan. So 

what we are doing is to use Kaduna 

as a springboard of mass transit 

development and from here then 

transfer them to places like Zaria 

and Kafanchan. 

Obviously whatever system we 

are developing has to suit the local 

situation as it stands but we are using 

Kaduna as a springboard.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 43 

ABUJACITYBUSINESS 

COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF NATION’S CAPITAL 

Cost of services, power shortage hindering 

multi-billion Japanese investments into Nigeria – Envoy 

LAIDE AKINBOADE-ORIERE, Abuja 

Cost of services, 

power shortage, 

fake and 

counterfeit 

goods are key 

issues hindering Japanese 

investors from exploring 

opportunities in Africa’s 

largest economy, Deputy 

Head of Mission/Counselor, 

Embassy of Japan, in 

Nigeria, Shigeru Umetsu 

told BusinessDay. 

In 2017, Japanese government 

had announced 

the country’s commitment 

of $30bn to a number of investment 

projects in Nigeria 

and African countries. 

The Director-General, 

Japan External Trade Organisation, 

Susumu Kataoka, 

had said that more 

Japanese companies were 

getting more interested 

in doing new business in 

Nigeria. 

Also in 2017, twelve 

Japanese companies, including 

trading houses, 

manufacturers, banks, 

insurance and relevant 

companies from all development 

sectors who 

visited Nigeria last year 

indicated strong interest 

in Nigeria, on the back 

of the considerable size 

of the Nigerian Market 

and the country’s huge 

potential. 

Umetsu who spoke exclusively 

with Business- 

Day, said despite huge 

resources and potential of 

Nigeria, political instability, 

terrorism and conflicts, 

are limiting investment 

inflows into the country 

and urged the federal government 

to address these 

challenges. 

He also harped on the 

need for the Federal Government 

to ensure unity 

in the country, adding that 

this would help in socioeconomic 

development 

of Nigeria. 

According to him: “naturally 

Japanese companies 

are very industrious 

in this country, with lot 

of potential. Nigeria has 

natural resources and the 

potential is so huge but 

there are lots of problems 

because of political instability, 

terrorism, conflicts. 

Some Japanese companies 

want improvement in cost 

of services, power shortage, 

fake and counterfeit 

goods.” 

He said Nigeria will be a 

model if the nation is able 

to unite and manage its 

complex and Nigeria diverse 

culture and people. 

“I think that is something 

the international 

community and the world 

would like to see,” he said. 

“I think the challenge 

Nigeria faces also presents 

a chance for her to develop 

and become a model for 

other African countries.” 


Japanese government 

will in 2018 increase its 

exchange programs between 

the two countries 

and bring more investors 

into Nigeria. 

“For example in 2019 

we are going to have Tokyo 

international conference 

on Agriculture in 

Africa Development, and 

we expect high ranking 

government officials to 

participate, particularly 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari. 

He further disclosed of 

their effort to get more Japanese 

businesses to come 

to Nigeria, adding that last 

week, Japanese parliamentarians 

visited Nigeria 

and exchanged views on 

what Japan businesses are 

doing in Nigeria. 

Benue disburses N100m to Cooperative Societies 

JAMES KWEN, Makurdi 

Benue State Government 

has 

commenced the 

disbursement of 

N100 million loan to cooperative 

societies registered 

under the Workman Network 

organization. 

Governor Samuel Ortom 

of Benue State made the 

symbolic presentation of 

dummy checks to 3 out of 

the 100 benefiting cooperative 

societies across the state 

at Lovemethuselah Microfinance 

Bank, Makurdi. 

Ortom called on people 

of the state to take advantage 

of the credit facilities 

available in Central Bank 

of Nigeria (CBN), NEXIM 

Bank and Bank of Industry 

to invest in business activities 

that would develop 

Benue economy. 

He said government 

would continue to provide 

level playing ground 

through sound regulations 

and policies that would 

promote businesses and 

urged the people, particularly 

youths to develop 

entrepreneurship spirit. 

The Benue State Governor 

stated that his administration 

is ready to 

partner with individuals, 

groups and institutions 

that have creative ideas to 

boost the economy especially 

in agriculture where 

the state has comparative 

Samuel Ortom, governor, Benue State 

advantage. 

Ortom told the management 

of Lovemethuselah 

Microfinance Bank 

where the loan is warehoused, 

that if the funds 

are properly managed, 

government would channel 

other schemes to it 

and warned beneficiaries 

not to misappropriate the 

money but invest it wisely 

in useful ventures. 

Speaking earlier, Abraham 

Ayuba, President of 

Workman Network said 

the loan was obtained 

from CBN with the support 

of Benue State Government 

to assist cooperative 

societies under the group 

to go into business activities 

to be self reliant. 

Ayuba noted that the 

Network has over 1,000 cooperative 

societies under 

it but only 100 can benefit 

from the available N100 

million and appealed to 

government to make arrangement 

for more funds 

to be released so that the 

remaining 900 societies 

would also benefit. 

On his part, Vincent 

Tortsugh, Legal Adviser, 

Lovemethuselah Microfinance 

Bank, pledged Bank’s 

support for Benue State’s investment 

policies to tackle 

poverty in the state. 

Tortsugh appealed to 

Benue State Government 

to invest in the Bank which 

is already contributing 

meaningfully to the development 

of the state 

economy and Nigeria at 

large through provision of 

jobs, soft loans and other 

financial services. 

16 UK Universities offer Nigerian 

Students Scholarships 

...as Nigerian IFY Centre wins Global award for the second time 

KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja 

No fewer than 16 

Universities in 

the United Kingdom 

under the 

umbrella of the Northern 

Consortium of United Kingdom 

Universities (NCUK) 

stormed Abuja last week to 

express their willingness to 

continue assisting Nigerian 

Students acquire qualitative 

education in the United 

Kingdom and beyond. 

Members of the consortium 

including: Universities 

of Aston, Birmingham, Bradford, 

Bristol, Huddersfield, 

Kent, Kingston, Leeds and 

Manchester, Salford and 

Sheffield amongst others, 

gave the assurance at the 

2018 Brookstone/NCUK Education 

Fair, held in Abuja. 

They offered various 

types of scholarships and 

cut their fees by half in a bid 

to fulfill the continuation of 

their over 5-year partnership 

with Brookstone Schools 

which had culminated in the 

Brookstone International 

Foundation Centres in both 

Port Harcourt and Abuja. 

Present at the event was 

the Chairman House of 

Representatives Committee 

on Education, Zakari 

Mohammed and officials 

Microsoft 365 Education unveils cloud 

services to aid learning in Nigeria 

LAIDE AKINBOADE-ORIERE 

Microsoft has 

launched its 

affordable 

technology solution 

built for education 

sector, called ‘Microsoft 365 

Education’ in Nigeria. 

The solution brings together 

Office 365, Windows 

10, Intune for Education, 

Minecraft: Education Edition 

and Enterprise Mobility 

+ Security, in a single cloudbased 

package. 

This was revealed at the 

Microsoft ‘Windows in the 

Classroom’ event, in partnership 

with Sidmach, in 

Abuja, 

Jordan Alyse Belmonte, 

Education Programs Manager, 

Microsoft Nigeria, at 

the occasion said this solution 

can help teachers to 

connect to other teachers all 

over the world. 

She said the solution 

would help educational institutions 

to continually improve 

student achievement 

and prepare them with skills 

they’ll need when they enter 

the workforce, the aim of 

of Federal Ministry of Education’s 

Quality Assurance 

Department. 

In his remarks, Mohammed 

noted that the collaboration 

between the NCUK 

and Brookstone had given 

unprecedented opportunities 

to Nigerian students to 

study in various schools in 

the United Kingdom and 

beyond. 


information that NCUK collaborates 

with some university 

in Ireland, Australia 

and North America and 

gives exclusive scholarships 

for Abuja Students is good 

news for parents wanting 

qualitative education for 

their children. 

He however said the fact 

that Brookstone has won 

the global awards as the 

best International Foundation 

Year Centre twice in a 

row shows that contrary to 

the touted believe that the 

quality of education is on the 

decline in Nigeria, educational 

pacesetters abound in 

the country if given the right 

incentives and facilities. 

Mohammed described 

the awards by Brookstone 

as a pride to Nigeria, adding 

that it has put the country 

on the world educational 

spotlight. 

Microsoft 365 Education is to 

get schools up and running 

faster through simplified 

acquisition and deployment. 

This eliminates wasted time 

and delivers new capabilities 

to teachers and students to 

help them learn and work 

in new ways. 

According to Belmonte: 

“Microsoft 365 is able to connect 

all the teachers in the 

world. Some of the features 

embedded like One Note aids 

multiple language learning 

and has features suitable for 

special needs children. With 

Skype, for instance, teachers 

can also connect their classrooms 

to other classrooms 

around the world, making for 

an immersive and interactive 

learning.” 

In his remarks, Mark East, 

Microsoft Regional Leader 

for Education in Europe, 

Middle East and Africa, said 

this solution will prepare 

students for the future, “We 

know that schools want simple 

to purchase, simple to 

manage, secure and efficient 

systems. Microsoft 365 Education 

is designed to deliver 

on that need.



C002D5556 

NEWS 

Supreme Court directs INEC to delineate Bakassai LGA 

FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja 

The Supreme Court 

has directed the Independent 

National 

Electoral Commission 

(INEC) to delineate 

wards in Bakassi Local Government 

Area of Cross River 

State. 

The apex court gave this 

order weekend while delivering 

a judgment on an appeal 

brought by the election 

umpire against representatives 

of Bakassi LGA, who 

were displaced from the Republic 

of Cameroon. 

The people of Bakassi 

had gone to court to compel 

INEC to recognise and 

conduct elections in the 

boundaries adjustment by 

the Cross River State House 

of Assembly, which was in 

line with Law No 7 of Cross 

River State 2007. 

It would be recalled that 

the lower court had earlier 

passed judgment ordering 

the INEC to conduct elections 

in the 10 new wards 

of Bakassi that were created 

from the old three Ikanga 

wards in Akpabuyo Local 

Government Area of the 

state. But INEC had disagreed 

with the judgment 

and went to the court of appeal, 

which it also lost. This 

necessitated approaching 

the apex court for interpretation 

of the relevant sections 

of the Constitution. 

However, the apex court 

Concerned Edo citizens urge SSS, EFCC to invite Orbih to prove IDP rice allegation 

Members of Concerned 

Citizens 

of Edo State 

(CCES), a nongovernmental 

organisation, 

have called on the Nigeria 

Police, the Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission 

(EFCC) and the State 

Security Service (SSS) to 

invite Dan Orbih, chairman, 

Edo State People’s 

Democratic Party (PDP) for 

proof of his allegation that 

the Edo State government 

diverted bags of rice meant 

for Internally Displaced 

Persons (IDPs). 

President of the association, 

Ogbewi Aghedo, said, 

“There are several dimensions 

to this allegation. 

The credibility of the Edo 

State government has been 

called to question by the allegation. 

The Edo State PDP 

chairman has also by that 

comment, accused the state 

held on Friday that the people 

of Bakassi had suffered 

enough and urged the electoral 

umpire to “do the needful” 

in ameliorating their 

plight by delineating areas in 

the council. 

The respondents in the 

appeal: Muri Asuquo, Antigha 

Cobham, Bassey Ekpenyong 

Etim and Effiong 

Iyam, who had instituted the 

case at the lower courts for 

themselves and on behalf 

of Ikanga, Esighi, Antigha 

Ene Eyo and Edihi Idim Ikot 

Eyi clans of Bakassi LGA, respectively, 

in their brief of 

argument, had urged the Supreme 

Court to uphold the 

February 2012 judgments of 

a Federal High Court and a 

Court of Appeal that were 

in their favour, and dismiss 

INEC appeal. 

In the lead judgment, 

which was prepared and 

delivered by Justice John 

Inyang Okoro, the Supreme 

Court said: “All we are saying 

in this judgment is that 

INEC should take steps to 

do the needful. 

“The people of Bakassi 

have suffered more than 

enough, and that their own 

representation should not 

be tampered with. INEC 

should do something as 

soon as possible at least to 

make them feel that they 

(Bakassi) belong.” 

The Supreme Court further 

held that the Cross River 

State House of Assembly 

government of criminal diversion 

of the relief materials 

approved for internally 

displaced persons and yet 

another diversion is the indictment 

of a senator from 

Ondo State, whose name 

was not given by Orbih. 

“You will agree with me 

that these are weighty allegations 

and cannot be 

equated with mere politicking. 

These alleged crimes 

fall within the purview of 

the police, the EFCC and 

the SSS, and the recorded 

audio interview of Dan Orbih 

on Independent Radio 

is sufficient material for 

preliminary investigation 

by these security agencies.” 

Aghedo said its members 

were aware that the 

state government had petitioned 

the state commissioner 

of police, “This a 

step in the right direction. 

The allegation is an attack 

“has powers to make laws to 

adjust boundaries of local 

governments as it deemed 

fit” in line with Law No 7 of 

the state, adding that the law 

did not create any constituency, 

but adjusted boundaries 

of Akpabuyo LGA in order 

to accommodate Bakassi. 

It agreed with the appellant 

(INEC) that the umpire 

had the sole powers to create 

constituencies. 

Presenting their arguments 

before the Supreme 

Court, the respondents 

(Bakassi representatives) submitted 

that the state assembly 

had powers having enacted 

Law No 7 as a legal compass 

to locate Ikanga North, Ikanga 

Central and Ikanga South 

as Wards in Bakassi LGA, in 

view of the current realities 

on ground occasioned by the 

cession of Bakassi to Cameroon, 

saying, INEC ought to 

have effected a consequential 

amendment in its directory of 

wards and constituencies in 

Cross River State. 

Reacting to the judgment, 

the Cross River State 

commissioner for transport, 

Nyong Saviour Okon, expressed 

delight at the decision 

of the apex court, saying, 

“On behalf of the government 

of Cross River State, we 

have received this judgment 

with delight. As a law-abiding 

people, we will go with the 

dictates of the judgment. We 

will try to get INEC to do the 

needful.” 

L-R: Adetukunbo Adekunbi, director of flight operations, Arik Air; Roy Ilegbodu, chief executive officer, Arik 

Air ; Jones Chukwudi Onyereri, chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, 

and his deputy, Zakari Ningi, during the House Committee’s visit to Arik Air in Lagos, at the weekend. 

on the integrity of the state 

government and it is only 

proper for the state to rise 

up to the occasion and demand 

proof.” 

The allegation, according 

to Aghedo, “is equivalent 

to whistle blowing and 

as you are aware, when you 

have your facts and proof, 

the Federal Government 

will reward you for blowing 

the whistle, but if you blow 

a false whistle, we all know 

the implication.” 

He added that as a 

stakeholder in the nation’s 

democracy project, its activities 

includes identifying 

actions and inactions that 

pose threat to the lives of 

the ordinary Edo people 

and Nigerians alike, defend 

them against obnoxious 

policies and laws and defend 

pro-people policies 

and programmes, among 

others. 

Ikpeazu rehabilitates Aba General 

Hospital, 7 years after it was abandoned 

GODFREY OFURUM 

In line with its policy 

to improve healthcare 

in Abia State, Governor 

Okezie Ikpeazu on 

Wednesday, February 21, 

2018, commissioned the 

newly rehabilitated Aba 

General Hospital, a secondary 

healthcare facility 

that had been moribund 

for seven years. 

The new Aba General 

Hospital, equipped with 

modern facilities, is to 

serve as a referral health 

facility for the primary 

healthcare centres established 

in all communities 

in Aba and its environs. 

The Aba General Hospital, 

which is regarded as 

the sole of Aba, apart from 

providing healthcare for 

residents and visitors to 

the city, also trains nurses. 

It also served as a take-off 

point for the state teaching 

hospital - Abia State University 

Teaching Hospital 

(ABSUTH). 

The story of the hospital 

began to nosedive when 

ABSUTH moved to its permanent 

site at Abayi area 

of Aba, and all attention 

moved to the new facility, 

leaving the general hospital 

to rot. 

The re-opening of the 

hospital holds a lot of nostalgia 

for the residents. 

According to Governor 

Okezie Ikpeazu, “This hospital 

is associated with all 

kinds of relief, for pregnant 

women, children, from 0-5 

years, the elderly, the aged, 

victims of road traffic accidents, 

victims of industrial 

accidents and people with 

all kinds of illnesses, the 

place to go to as it where 

was Aba General Hospital. 

“It was safe, secured and 

renowned for best medical 

practices. 

“However, a few years 

ago, the story changed, 

what we saw 10 years ago 

was that we have backlog of 

students, who have come 

here to train as nurses in 

their general nursing programme 

and probably 

midwives in the midwifery 

programme, abandoned 

for 10 years without being 

licensed to practice. 

“What it meant was that 

a little girl, who entered 

school here, hopping that 

after three years, she will 

become a nurse, ended up 

celebrating her 28th birthday, 

without a certificate of 

a licensing authority. 

“But to the glory of God, 

within the first 18 months 

of this administration, we 

were able to return and 

restore the capacity and 

credibility of this nursing 

school to the status that we 

have cleared the backlog of 

those waiting for their licensing 

and has continued 

to train nurses.” 

Governor Ikpeazu wondered 

what Aba residents 

would do, if the General 

Hospital was out of service, 

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu 

and applauded Dr. Ijeoma 

Nduka, chief executive, 

Health Management, and 

her team for their resilience, 

which he observed 

led to the rehabilitation of 

the hospital. 

“So, it is more to their 

credit that we are commissioning 

this hospital today. 

But I see a tomorrow for 

this place, better than what 

we have ever seen before. I 

see a tomorrow where people 

will run into this place 

and God will heal them, I 

see a day when pregnant 

women will not have to 

pay so much to give birth 

to their children, safe and 

healthy. 

“I look forward to a day 

when aged men and women 

will come here to access 

healthcare and get well 

again. I look forward to a 

day when a trader, who has 

headache, will rush to the 

General Hospital, access 

medicare and go back to 

his/her shop, healthy,” the 

Governor said. 

The Governor continued, 

“I look forward to 

a day, when this facility 

will have the best medical 

equipment you can find 

anywhere in the world and 

handled by our citizens in 

diaspora, who are desirous 

of coming back home to 

serve their people. 

“This is our desire and 

we will not rest until we 

achieve it.” 

For Dr. John Akukanna, 

the state’s commissioner 

for health, the Governor’s 

vision is to ensure that secondary 

healthcare system 

in Abia State is strengthened. 

“He wants to make 

secondary health system 

strengthened, such that 

primary healthcare centres 

have proper referral 

healthcare centres. And 

today, Aba is the first to be 

given such attention,” the 

commissioner said. 

The Abia health commissioner 

also revealed 

that the same facility 

would be replicated in the 

three senatorial zones of 

the state. 

According to Akukanna, 

“Aba residents and 

environs yawned that this 

hospital should be opened 

for you and now you have 

it. So, Aba as it is now has 

full complements of primary 

healthcare, secondary 

and tertiary healthcare 

systems.” 

He urged Aba residents 

to patronise the hospital 

and complain where 

things were not working 

properly. 

To strengthen healthcare 

delivery in Abia State, 

the current administration 

in the State has recruited 

medical personnel and is 

partnering with organizations 

to provide medical 

equipment in the state 

owned hospitals. 

The State Government 

has taken delivery of some 

medical equipment from 

Project CURE, a United 

States of America (USA) 

based organisation. 

Project CURE donates 

medical supplies and 

equipment to developing 

countries. 

Governor Ikpeazu, on 

tour general hospitals in 

the state, explained that 

the exercise was aimed 

at identifying the various 

needs of each General 

Hospital in the state. 

Accompanied by Bev 

Sloan, Project CURE representative, 

Ikpeazu stated 

that all the general hospitals 

need attention in 

terms of manpower, medical 

equipment, and furniture, 

among others. 

The Abia State Governor 

disclosed that the state 

government had plans to 

recruit medical personnel 

that would be deployed to 

various general hospitals 

in the state. 

He disclosed that the 

state was partnering Project 

CURE for the supply 

of medical equipment 

and consumables, and 

thanked the Hospital Management 

Board for their 

commitment in spite of 

the numerous challenges 

and encouraged them to 

continue. 

Bev said she was in Abia 

State to see things for herself 

to enable her make recommendations 

for the right 

equipment needed in the 

general hospitals in the state. 

She stressed that her 

organisation supplies 

medical consumables and 

equipment, and informed 

that the hospitals visited 

were hopeful, as she would 

make recommendations 

for the supply of the needs 

identified. 

Nelson Ogboh, medical 

director, General Hospital, 

Arochukwu, commended 

the efforts of the Governor 

Ikpeazu-led administration 

in fixing and upgrading 

the general hospitals, 

describing the action as a 

welcome development. 

Hospitals visited include, 

Arochukwu General 

Hospital, Abia State University 

Teaching Hospital 

(ABSUTH), Aba, Abia Specialist 

Hospital, Amachara, 

Health Management Board 

(HMB) Dental Centre, Aba, 

and Mgboko General Hospital 

in Obingwa Local 

Government Area of the 

state.


Activation of Warri, Koko ports will end 

restiveness, create jobs, Olu of Warri tells Buhari 

ONYINYE NWACHUKWU, Abuja 

The Federal Government 

must 

activate the utilisation 

of Warri 

and Koko ports in 

order to reduce the restiveness 

in the area, but also create 

jobs for the youths, Olu 

of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwole, 

told President Muhammadu 

Buhari at a meeting in Abuja, 

weekend. 

The Olu also called for 

the actualisation of the 

planned gas industrial park 

(gas city), valued at $20 billion, 

through a Public-Private 

Partnership model. 

The Olu, who led a delegation 

including the immediate 

past governor of Delta 

State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, 

to meet with President Buhari 

at the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja, decried the fact that 

Warri and Koko ports had 

been under utilised while 

others in the country were 

active and contributing to 

the economic activities in 

their states. 

Government dependence on foreign professionals worries ACEN 

Government’s much 

reliance on foreign 

consultants to execute 

engineering 

jobs in the country is a concern 

to the Association for 

Consulting Engineers in Nigeria 

(ACEN). 

To the association, lack of 

significant jobs from government 

is a big challenge confronting 

it, but the new president 

of the body, Charles 

Akindayomi, believes that 

the development can be due 

to the conditions tied to foreign-funded 

projects. 

He also complained that 

the association members 

also struggle for their fees 

when they get any jobs from 

government. 

At his investiture in Lagos 

recently as the 17th president 

of the 46 years old body, Akindayomi 

however called on 

the government to increase 

patronage of local consulting 

Tagged the Gas Revolution 

Industrial Park, GRIP, 

Ogidigben, and envisaged 

to be a regional hub for all 

gas-based industries, the 

project will cover 2,700 hectares 

of land with fertilizer, 

methanol, petrochemicals 

and aluminium plants located 

in the park that has 

already been designated as a 

Tax Free Zone by the Federal 

Government. 

Proposed to gulp some 

$16 billion, the groundbreaking 

ceremony was 

done by the administration 

of ex-President Goodluck 

Jonathan. 

The gas city initiative, 

involves the Federal government, 

petroleum ministry 

and the state government. 

The site located at 

the swampy community of 

Igidigbien was reclaimed 

through excavation and 

sand filling before the 

groundbreaking event. 

The monarch said their 

concerns include rising insecurity, 

challenges in the 

Niger Delta area, ecological 

engineering firms. 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari recently signed Executive 

Order 5, which gives 

preference to Nigerians for 

procurement in science, engineering 

and technology 

sector. It is believed that the 

Order, which has been clamoured 

for by various local 

bodies if fully implemented, 

will calm some nerves. 

Akindayomi suggested 

that such preferential treatment 

to locals could be 

alone or in collaboration 

with foreign consultants in 

the effort to build Nigeria’s 

infrastructure needs. 

Another area of concern, 

he pointed out, is that some 

private sector clients insist 

on using the out-dated Federal 

Government scale of 

fees issued in 1996, rather 

than the COREN’s recommended 

hourly rates issued 

in 2015, which are charges 

for various cadre of engineering 

personnel. 

problems, infrastructure development, 

as well as lack of 

access to ports in the state, 

which they also presented to 

the President. 

Speaking with State 

House Correspondents at 

the end of the meeting, the 

monarch said, “We presented 

some issues that 

affects our area most especially 

our ports. Our ports 

are not working; Warri Port 

and Koko Port are very good 

and solid ports that are not 

working. While other ports 

in other areas are working, 

ours are just left unutilised. 

“So we want the ports to 

be activated so that there can 

start working, and that will 

mop up a lot of youths from 

the streets. When the ports 

were working there were no 

restiveness in the area. 

“Apart from that there is 

also the gas city, it is a fantastic 

project. The last president 

did the groundbreaking 

before he left but since then 

nothing has been happening. 

We want the federal government 

to hasten action on 

He therefore said his focus 

would be to have ACEN to 

be an adviser to government 

on projects, saying, “We shall 

partner ministries, departments 

and agencies to get our 

input during selection of consulting 

engineers for government 

projects procurement. 

“We shall advocate for 

strong government support 

for our consulting engineering 

firms, while ensuring that 

only ACEN registered consultants 

are used through the 

enforcement of the regulatory 

policies of the COREN Act.” 

He also said the body under 

his management should 

motivate the state governments 

to minimise the use of 

their in-house government 

engineering units, by contracting 

out project works to 

independently-owned consulting 

engineering firms. 

The body would also continue 

its collaboration with 

other relevant bodies and 

agencies, he said. 

it because that will mop up 

over 300,000 unemployed 

youths from the streets. So 

when all of our youths are 

engaged the restiveness will 

be minimised.” 

The monarch also called 

for some roads in the area 

to be fixed, saying it would 

expand economic activities 

of the area. 

“We have the Koko road 

that needs to be fixed. That 

road will open up the area, 

allow economic activities to 

expand. We have the Escravos 

road that also needs to be 

fixed. We also want the railway 

that is going on now, we 

want it to come to the area, by 

that the economic activities 

will thrive better and Nigerians 

will be happy for it.” 

Asked that the President’s 

response was? The 

monarch said, “He assured 

us that they will do their 

best. His hands are tied because 

everybody demands 

his attention, but that he will 

follow through our requests 

to ensure that the things are 

done.” 

L-R: Inmaculada Soto Riba, loan officer, European Investment Bank (EIB); Tony Okpanachi, MD/CEO, Development Bank of 

Nigeria (DBN); Sanja Blatt, monitoring officer, EIB, and Ijeoma Ozulumba, chief financial officer, DBN, during a working visit of 

EIB to DBN in Abuja. 

Pic by Tunde Adeniyi 

DANIEL OBI 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

45 

NEWS 

BBC World News Komla Dumor Award seeks 

next rising star in African journalism 

The BBC has begun 

the search for Africa’s 

next journalism star 

- launching the 2018 

BBC World News Komla Dumor 

Award from his homeland 

in Accra, Ghana. Journalists 

from across the continent 

are invited to apply for the 

prestigious prize, which aims 

to promote fresh journalism 

talent from Africa. 

The award was set up to 

honour the memory of Komla 

Dumor, an exceptional 

Ghanaian broadcaster who 

died unexpectedly at the age 

of 41 in 2014. In his short life, 

Komla made an extraordinary 

impact – in Ghana, in 

Africa and across the world 

– on Joy FM and at the BBC. 

Through his tenacious 

journalism and compelling 

storytelling, he worked 

tirelessly to bring a more 

sophisticated African narrative 

to the world. The BBC 

El-Rufai, Adeosun meet Kaduna 

business leaders, taxpayers over VAIDS 

HARRISON EDEH, Abuja 

Governor Nasir el- 

Rufai of Kaduna 

State and Kemi 

Adeosun, minister 

of finance, will Thursday, 

meet with business leaders, 

business owners and 

taxpayers in Kaduna over 

the Voluntary Assets and Income 

Declaration Scheme 

(VAIDS). 

The Kaduna State government 

is hosting the VAIDS 

stakeholders’ symposium, 

expected to have in attendance 

executive chairman of 

the Federal Inland Revenue 

Service (FIRS), Babatunde 

Fowler, members of the state 

executive council, members 

of the Kaduna State House 

of Assembly and traditional 

rulers. 

Adeosun made this know 

in a statement as she identified 

regular tax payment by 

Nigerians as fundamental to 

Underage voters: PDP rejects 

INEC’s 8-man committee 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja 

The People’s Democratic 

Party (PDP) 

has rejected the 

composition of the 

eight-man in-house committee 

set up by the chairman 

of the Independent 

National Electoral Commission 

(INEC), Mahmood 

Yakubu, to investigate the 

existence of underage voters 

in Kano State. 

The party also rejected 

the scope of the inquest, 

particularly the exclusion 

of Katsina State from the 

probe, despite vast evidence 

of underage voters 

in that state. 

The PDP noted that the 

fact that the All Progressives 

Congress (APC) rose 

in staunch defense of INEC 

over the existence of the 

underage voters had further 

confirmed that the 

ruling party had more than 

vested interests in the illegality. 

The main opposition 

is committed to continuing 

Komla’s legacy and, through 

this award, aims to empower 

a new generation of journalists 

from Africa to tell African 

stories to global audiences. 

Previous winners of the 

BBC World News Komla 

Dumor Award are Nancy Kacungira 

from Uganda, Didi 

Akinyelure from Nigeria, and 

Amina Yuguda also from 

Nigeria. All three winners 

used their time at the BBC to 

hone their journalism skills 

through training, workshops 

and mentorship. Working 

closely with leading talent 

within the BBC, the winners 

undertake a final project, 

travelling to Africa to report 

on a story that they have researched. 

During her placement, 

Nancy Kacungira travelled to 

Ghana to report on Diaspora 

Ghanaians who had decided 

to return to their roots. The 

the growth and development 

of the country. 

She noted that predictable 

tax revenue inflow would 

lead to more investment by 

the federal and state governments 

in infrastructure 

and job and wealth creation 

across the nation. 

“Payment of taxes is a fundamental 

requirement for 

our growth story. Nigeria has 

a very poor scorecard in tax 

payment. When oil came, we 

abandoned the old systems 

of tax collection that provided 

most of our infrastructure 

since colonial days. 

“Currently, we have just 

14 million tax payers out of 

70 million who are economically 

active. So, many people 

who should be paying are not 

paying anything. It is the development 

of taxes that will 

help the states and the Federal 

Government to achieve 

their true potentials,” the 

minister said. 

party stated these in a 

statement by its national 

publicity secretary, Kola 

Ologbondiyan, on Sunday. 

According to the party, 

the panel constituted by 

INEC lacks credibility as it 

comprises of members of 

the same indicted INEC, 

and have been detailed to 

arrive at predetermined 

findings and recommendations 

aimed at exonerating 

the Yakubu-led commission 

and play down on the 

electoral implications of 

the existence of underage 

voters. 

“Nigerians have been 

wondering why INEC is 

afraid of looking at its register 

in Katsina State. Is it because 

Katsina is the home 

state of President Muhammodu 

Buhari and a probe 

is likely to expose cans of 

worms? Is INEC afraid that 

a sanitised register would 

lead to a massive drop in 

the voting population in the 

state and cripple APC’s rigging 

plan? 

following year, Didi Akinyelure 

went to the Ivory Coast 

to investigate new opportunities 

for the local chocolate 

manufacturing industry. Last 

year’s winner, Amina Yuguda, 

reported from Uganda 

about why Lake Victoria is 

under threat of dying. 

Amina said: “Being the 

winner of the 2017 BBC 

World News Komla Dumor 

Award felt like the beginning 

of my career. Getting 

an international platform, to 

be recognised at an international 

level, it’s like I arrived. 

“During my placement, 

I learned the importance of 

truth, balance and fairness, 

and gained invaluable insights 

into how to give African 

stories a global appeal. 

We are proud of how Komla 

represented the continent 

to the world, and I feel honoured 

to be helping continue 

that legacy.”


C002D5556 


NEWS 

Diamond Bank pares loses as oil rally aids... 


percent exposure to the oil and 

gas sector in 2016, as deduced 

from the company’s financial 

statements. 

“The improved oil NPLs will 

reflect in our full-year 2017 financial 

result,” Anyanwu added. 

The bank’s full-year 2017 financial 

report is expected to hit 

the market by March. 

The bank’s share price jumped 

2 percent to N2.55 Friday, according 

to data from Bloomberg. 

The lengthy collapse in oil 

prices which began in mid-2014 

led to a corresponding decline in 

the revenues of Nigerian oil and 

gas corporates, making it more 

difficult for them to service their 

predominantly foreign-currency 

borrowings. 

Nigerian lenders who were 

heavily exposed to the troubled 

oil and gas sector had to restructure 

loans extended to mostly 

indigenous oil firms last year. 

The restructuring has mainly 

been by increasing loan tenors, 

allowing struggling clients to pay, 

based on their cash flow capacity 

and converting some amortising 

loans into bullet loans. 

Sixty to 70 percent of loans 

in the oil and gas sector were 

restructured with prodding 

from the Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN), according to global 

credit rating agency, Moody’s 

Investors Service. 

Nigerian banks’ balance 

sheets are highly dollarised, with 

foreign-currency-denominated 

loans constituting around 50 

percent of total as of the end of 

June 2016. 

The banks’ exposure to the oil 

and gas industry is substantial, at 

around 30 percent of total loans, 

of which about one-third is to the 

upstream segment. 

Things have however taken a 

dramatic turn since the rally in oil 

prices made possible by OPEC’s 

move to drain a supply glut in 

the market by shaving some 1.2 

million barrels daily off global 

supply. 

Oil prices have more than 

doubled to $69 per barrel on 

average this year, from as low as 

$29 dollars per barrel in January 

2016. Nigeria’s benchmark, Brent 

crude, rose 0.8 percent to $66.9 

per barrel Friday, according to 

Bloomberg data. 

Local production has also 

recovered some lost grounds 

inflicted by militant attacks in the 

better part of 2016. 

According to OPEC data, Nigeria’s 

production surged 50 percent 

to 1.8 million barrels daily in 

January 2018, from as low as 1.2 

million in January 2016. 

The loss of Forcados barrels, 

which pumped an average of 

200,000 barrels in 2015 before 

militancy escalated, had the single 

biggest impact on oil production 

out of any grade the country 

produces. Just as its resumption 

after a 15-month halt has also 

had a telling impact on overall 

production. 

This has helped Africa’s largest 

oil producer put the worst of 

its first economic recession in a 

quarter of a century. 

The economy expanded 1.4 

percent in the third quarter of 2017, 

according to data by state-funded 

National Bureau of Statistics. 

Buoyed by stronger quarterly 

average production of 2.03 

million barrels daily (mb/pd) 

(Q3’16: 1.61 mb/d), the oil sector 

expanded 26 percent year on 

year in the quarter to lift Nigeria’s 

GDP. 

The recovery has translated 

to an improving asset quality 

outlook for the Nigerian 

banks, given their exposure to 

the sector. 

“We think sector NPLs are 

close to their peak, and we expect 

higher oil prices will have 

direct implications on loan performance,” 

analysts at Moscowbased 

investment firm, Renaissance 

Capital said in a note to 

clients this month. 

L-R: UK Eke, group managing director, FBN Holdings plc; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman, Wapic Insurance 

plc/former president, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Soji Apampa, co-founder and CEO, Convention On 

Business Integrity (CBI); Chiedu Osakwe, director-general, NOTN/Nigerian Chief Trade Negotiator; Abimbola 

Ogunbanjo, president, NSE; Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE, and ABC Orjiakor, chairman, Seplat Petroleum Development 

Company plc, during the NSE launching of Corporate Governance Index and honouring companies 

and directors for Passing Corporate Governance Rating System Assessment dinner in Lagos. 

2019: NASS raises Presidential campaign... 


the campaign expenditure by 

candidates of political parties in 

governorship, National Assembly 

seats, area councils as well as donations 

to candidates of political 

parties by individuals and entities. 

BusinessDay findings revealed 

that some of the campaign expenditures 

consist of cost of organising 

political rallies, printing of campaign 

posters, leaflets, t-shirts and fez caps, 

purchase and branding of campaign 

vehicles as well as television, radio, 

newspaper, magazine, online and 

billboard advertisements. 

For instance, the current law puts 

the campaign limits of presidential, 

governorship and senatorial candidates 

at N1 billion, N200 million and 

N40 million respectively. 

This indicates that some of the 

elections spending limits were 

increased from between 150 to 900 

percent in the new amendment. 

The law makers claim that increase 

in the ceiling was informed 

by the need to make it conform to 

modern realities. 

Ironically, the amendment is 

coming at a time that the National 

Assembly is awaiting the #NotTooYoungToRun 

Bill, currently before the 

36 state houses of assembly, which 

seeks to reduce the age limit for 

running for elected offices in Nigeria. 

Apart from reducing the age limit, the 

bill also seeks to encourage younger 

people who will likely not be as rich 

as their older contemporaries to seek 

election positions. 

But some analysts are opposed 

to the review, saying lawmakers 

are supposed to focus on how to 

checkmate the activities of moneybag 

politicians. According to them, 

monetisation of politics is capable 

muzzling the nation’s political 

system if left unchecked. 

In an interview with Business- 

Day, Nwagwu Ezenwa, Chairman, 

Partners for Electoral Reform said 

the move will massively discourage 

prospective candidates. 

“The continued monetization 

of our politics will ostensibly push 

away self-respecting people. Even 

if you do not have the resources to 

contest, you will depend on people 

who have either put their hands 

in public purse or only those who 

have had access to public funds will 

be recycling themselves in politics.” 

Ezenwa lamented that moneypolitics 

had eroded the core values of 

politics which is to serve the people. 

“Even if a professor saves all 

his salary for all the time he will be 

teaching in the University, he will 

not be able to save N5 billion. In 

fact, he can’t save N1 billion. 

“In terms of lawmaking, what 

they (lawmakers) have done is to 

say let’s make a law that is close to 

reality. But as a keen watcher and 

observer of electoral process in 

Nigeria, it subverts the aspiration of 

self-respecting people. Except you 

are in big business or have access to 

public money, election is no longer 

for you,” he stated. 

BusinessDay gathered that the 

clean copy of the new electoral act 

is about to be transmitted from the 

office of the Clerk to the National 

Assembly (CNA) to the President 

for assent. 

There are, however, strong signals 

that the President will likely 

veto the Bill, even as the National 

Assembly is squaring up to override 

the President’s veto. 

The Bill provides a timeline for 

submission of list of candidate, 

sequence of elections, guidelines 

for political parties’ primaries, use 

of technological devices, and limit 

of campaign expenses, omission 

of names of candidates or logos 

of political parties among others. 

Checks on the amended Electoral 

Act obtained by BusinessDay 

revealed that the proposal also 

placed a campaign ceiling of N100 

million (representing 150 percent 

increase) and N70 million (250 

percent increase) respectively for 

senatorial and House of Representatives 

candidates. Currently, 

the 2010 Electoral Act pegs the 

amounts at N40, 000,000 and 

N20,000,000 for both positions. 

In the case of State Assembly, 

chairmanship and Councillor 

candidates of area council elections, 

candidates are not to spend 

above N30 million for both state 

assembly and chairmanship candidates 

(representing 200 percent 

increase) and N5 million (representing 

400 percent increase) for 

Councillor standard bearers. 

The Bill also fixed donations to 

candidates of political parties by individuals 

and entities at N10 million 

as against N1 million prescribed in 

the 2010 Electoral Act (representing 

900 percent increase). 

“A candidate who knowingly 

acts in contravention of this section, 

commits an offense and is 

liable on conviction to a maximum 

fine of 1 percent of the amount 

permitted as the limit of campaign 

expenditure under this Act or imprisonment 

for a term not exceeding 

12 months or both,” Section 87 

of the proposal states. 

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com 

NASD moves to connect PE investors with... 


Portal called “NASDeP” which it 

limits to only Private Equity (PE) 

investors to enable them access 

information on these enterprises. 

Interestingly, BusinessDay is 

the first news medium to see the 

specimen of the Enterprise Portal 

preparatory to its official public 

launch on March 22, 2018. 

Currently, there are many Nigerian 

early growth-enterprises looking 

for private equity, especially 

considering the high interest rate 

they would pay if they go borrowing 

from banks. 

Bola Ajomale, Managing Director/CEO, 

NASD Plc who spoke to 

BusinessDay in his Lagos office 

said that NASDeP collates standardised 

information on growthoriented 

enterprises and presents 

such information to pre-screened 

investors. 

Enterprises in different markets 

with growth opportunities require 

long-term capital to finance their 

operations. Weak support from the 

formal capital market forces such 

companies to borrow from commercial 

banks at expensive rates. 

Banks double digit interest 

rates on short-term loans are not 

sustainable, though the companies 

that are willing to give up the equity 

usually look for just an investment, 

not partners. 

This remains one of the main 

challenges for businesses to attract 

needed Private Equity (PE) funds. 

NASDeP bridges this gap by 

showcasing qualified enterprises 

to venture capital, private equity 

and other accredited investors who 

are seeking investment opportunities. 

It will be an information hub 

for enterprises, investors, business 

incubators and sponsors as well as 

analysts. 

Nigeria recorded $7.8 billion 

worth of Private Equity (PE) deals 

in five year period of 2012 and 2017, 

outshining other African countries 

like South Africa and Kenya, according 

to data from Africa Private 

Equity and Venture Capital Association 

(AVCA). 

“The greatest explosion in private 

equity, if it is going to occur 

anywhere around the world in the 

next couple of years, is going to be 

in Africa, particularly sub-Saharan 

Africa, where the penetration rate 

is about one-twelfth or so of what 

it is in the United States,” according 

to David Rubenstein, a billionaire 

co-CEO of a US based PE firm The 

Carlyle Group. 

Private Equity investment in 

Nigeria takes place in both start-up 

and established businesses; but the 

common investment strategies include 

venture capital, buyouts and 

restructuring (provision of growth 

capital). 

Bertrams Lukstins, Co-Founder, 

CEO at London-based market 

research firm, AfricaLinked.com 

noted that “deals and Private Equity 

is happening in Africa, the 

challenge is finding these deals.” 

“Even big funds have to do small 

deals. There have been instances 

where a $3billion-fund invested 

as little as $10million in a company,” 

he noted, adding that till 

2020, there remains a great opportunity 

for small and mid-sized 

investments into companies that 

require $5million-$100million per 

transaction. 

“While capital is highly demanded 

in Nigeria and there is a lot 

of capital available for deals, there 

is a lack of good deals available. 

The main reason for this is people’s 

attitudes to ownership, companies 

prefer to borrow than give up equity. 

Many entrepreneurs rather 

have the whole business than a 

small piece of a huge pie. There is 

also a level of emotional ties to the 

business – many companies are 

family run and owned”, Lukstins 

noted. 

The NASDeP provides a platform 

where accredited investors 

can discover new investment 

opportunities; the platform also 

provides well-functioning enterprises 

with crucial access to patient 

capital and strategic partnerships. 

Ajomale said “the platform 

makes information handy for private 

equity investors” and others 

to ameliorate the rigors or going 

to research on growth-enterprises. 

It also aims to create a repository 

of information on viable growthoriented 

enterprises as well as an 

efficient, accessible and transparent 

information exchange, he said. 

“Such investors may range 

from casual, financial and strategic 

investors, to institutional 

firms who will provide operational 

enterprises with crucial access to 

capital and guidance from the best 

managers in the industry,” Ajomale 

told BusinessDay. 

The private equity (PE) and 

venture capital industry in Africa 

continues to witness strong performance 

across diverse sectors. 

Returns to investors are expected 

to remain strong with considerable 

growth in robust asset classes such 

as infrastructure, which provides 

stable, long-term cash flows. 

“Despite the prevalence of 

lucrative deals, investors in Africa 

face high transaction costs stemming 

from unique risk factors, such 

as exposure to market volatility, as 

well as political and credit risk,” 

said Lade Araba, Africa Region 

Representative, Convergence, a 

global network for blended finance 

that generates blended finance 

data, intelligence, and deal flow to 

increase private sector investment 

in developing countries. 

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com


L-R: Helen Avery, 

private banking 

editor, Euromoney; 

Aminat 

Adedipe, head, 

currency trading, 

Access Bank plc; 

Herbert Wigwe, 

GMD/CEO, Access 

Bank plc, 

and Miles Jupp, 

English comedian 

and actor at 

the Euromoney 

private banking 

awards where 

Access Bank 

won the ‘best 

private bank 

for commercial 

banking capabilities 

in Nigeria’ 

at Landmark 

in Marylebone, 

London. 

Nigeria primary, secondary students 

enrolment shrunk 4.3m in 2016 


The number of 

primary and 

secondary students 

enrolled in 

both public and 

private schools in Nigeria 

dropped by over 4.3 million 

pupils/students in 2016, as 

compiled from the most 

recent education statistics 

report released February 

16, by the National Bureau 

of Statistics (NBS). 

The public Early Child 

Care Development Education 

had a reduction of over 

1.9 million in the number 

of enrolled pupils from 4.67 

million in 2015 to 2.69 million 

in 2016. 1.36 million 

of the children were male 

while 1. 33 million were female, 

as compiled from the 

statistics report. 

Similarly, 1.46 million 

enrolled for private 

Early Child Care Development 

Education in 2016 as 

against 2.08 million in 2015, 

accounting for 618,959 de- 

‘Horn your employability skills now to be competitive’ 

KELECHI EWUZIE 

Against the backdrop 

of the continuous 

rise in 

unemployment 

rate, Nigerian Bottling 

Company Limited (NBC) 

has reiterated the need for 

students and graduates to 

deliberately seek to develop 

skills, which can give 

them an edge in today’s 

competitive marketplace. 

Olumide Sholanke, director 

of human resources 

at NBC, while delivering a 

speech at a career fair organised 

by Pan-Atlantic 

University, stressed on 

the need for students to 

embrace teamwork, collaboration, 

volunteering 

opportunities and internships 

as these provide 

valuable experience that 

companies seek when hiring. 

“Volunteering is a very 

cline in the number of enrolled 

pupils. 734,726 of the 

children were male while 

722,735 were female. 

The private primary 

school also had a reduction 

in the number of pupils 

that were enrolled in 

the period under review, 

as over 1.42 million decline 

was recorded from 4.65 

million in 2015 to 3.24 million 

in 2016. Out of which, 

1.63 million pupils were 

male and 1.61 million female. 

The junior secondary 

school was not any different 

from the primary 

school, as it recorded a decline 

of 351,304 students, 

from 6.18 million in 2015 

to 5.84 million students enrolled 

in 2016. 4.79 million 

of such students enrolled 

in public junior secondary 

schools while the remaining 

1.05 enrolled in private 

junior secondary schools. 

Classroom teachers 

were not left out in number 

reduction, as there 

vital part of your journey, 

as it portrays you as an individual 

who has mastered 

his/her time and can appropriate 

it wisely. This is 

very key for a company like 

ours where volunteering 

is an integral part of our 

DNA,” he said. 

According to Sholanke, 

the future is one in which 

teamwork and collaboration 

are at the heart of 

business, working on projects 

with people you may 

never meet, this is a social 

skill that must be naturally 

learned. 

He explained further 

the importance of internships: 

“Internships are a 

continuous learning experience- 

an extension of the 

classroom where you are 

empowered with a clear 

responsibility but also with 

a support network and all 

the learning strategies. 

Applying for and securing 

was a decline of primary 

school teachers by 24,847, 

from 567,380 employed in 

2015 to total of 542,533 primary 

school teachers employed 

in 2016. Meanwhile, 

283,051 of such teachers 

were male while 259,482 

were female. 

Although, there was a 

record of increase in both 

public primary schools 

and the senior secondary 

school. 

The public primary 

school was up by 1.57 million, 

from 20.79 million 

in 2015 to 22.35 million in 

2016. But, again the male 

pupils were higher than the 

female as the male stood 

at 11.80 million while the 

female at 10.55 million pupils. 

Similarly, 4.48 million 

students enrolled in senior 

secondary schools in 2016 

as against 4.15 in 2015, a 

325,956 students increase 

in the comparable period. 

3.56 of such students 

enrolled in public senior 

internships equip you with 

necessary work experience 

and puts you in good stead 

for available, full-time jobs 

in the organisation.” 

With universities, polytechnics 

and colleges 

of education graduates 

churned out daily with little 

or no hope of securing 

their desired jobs, a massive 

dearth exists between 

this number of graduates 

and those deemed employable 

by organisations. 

This gulf in employability 

necessitated the career fair 

organised by Pan-Atlantic 

University, geared at providing 

clarity on graduate 

expectation and company 

required skill. 

The career fair with 

the theme “Bridging the 

Gap” was put together to 

encourage and contribute 

to nurturing the future of 

the country, providing a 

platform where the best 

secondary schools while 

the remaining 911,561 enrolled 

in private senior secondary 

schools. 

Africa’s most populous 

nation, home to about 186 

million inhabitants, is the 

largest exporter of crude in 

the continent and it is the 

largest economy in the region. 

The nation emerged 

from its worst economic 

contraction that led the 

country deep into five consecutive 

quarters of negative 

economic growth. 

It had since experienced 

a positive economic trajectory 

in the second quarter 

of last year resulting from a 

global increase in the price 

of crude oil and the relative 

peace in the oil-rich Niger 

Delta, also led to the increase 

in production of its 

main exporting product. 

Although the question 

that needs urgent attention 

is how this growth has 

impacted on the general 

economy and of course the 

nation’s education sector. 

talents can be engaged 

and absorbed into the job 

market. 

NBC with over 3,000 

employees has constantly 

demonstrated the ability 

to attract the best talent 

and is leaving no stone 

unturned in its bid to support 

youth development. 

With programmes such 

as “Youth Empowered” 

where it provides useful 

training for youths in business 

and life skills, to its 

training academies, where 

technical requirements of 

its operations are taught, 

the company continues to 

forge ahead in developing 

tomorrow’s leaders. 

The event served as a 

meeting point for industry 

and talent with an array 

of other human resource 

experts present to engage 

the new graduates as they 

prepare for the next steps 

in their career journey. 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

47 

NEWS 

Innoson commences training 

of 200 Niger Delta youths 

EMMANUEL NDUKUBA 

Innoson Kiara Academy 

has commenced training 

of 200 Niger Delta 

youths in automobile 

fitting to meet the needs of 

the country’s labour market. 

The exercise was flagged 

off at the factory auditorium 

in Nnewi, Anambra State at 

the weekend, with an induction 

programme for the 

participants drawn from 

different states. 

Endi Ezengwa, CEO of 

Innoson Kiara Academy, 

while addressing the participants, 

said the Academy 

was a citadel for youth empowerment 

with technical 

and vocational skills’ acquisition. 

“We facilitate training 

that enables trainees to understand 

the need for total 

rehabilitation in education 

for empowerment in automobile 

industry,” he said. 

According to Ezengwa, 

the trainees are expected 

to undergo training in 

auto mechanicals, electrical/electronics, 

fabrication, 

welding, painting and 

spraying. 

“At the end of the exer- 

Capital market to bridge investment gap in Nigeria 

ANTHONIA OBOKOH 

A 

proper functioning 

capital market is capable 

of attracting 

sufficient long-term 

funds to bridge Nigeria’s ballooning 

infrastructural deficit, 

according to Institute of 

Chartered Secretaries and 

Administrators of Nigeria 

(ICSAN). 

“The necessity for critical 

long-term investment by 

both public and private players 

to boost the productive 

capacity of the country becomes 

essential. To achieve 

this, the capital market has 

a critical role to play,” Peter 

Ashade, managing director, 

Africa Prudential plc, represented 

by Catherine Nwogu. 

Speaking at the ICSAN 

company secretaries and 

registrars’ forum with the 

theme “company secretaries 

and registrars: a functional 

partnership for capital market 

development” held in Lagos 

on Wednesday, Ashade 

said, capital market played 

the crucial role of mobilising 

fund for long-term investment 

in infrastructure, 

manufacturing, services and 

other critical sectors of the 

economy. 

“Development of the 

capital market is critical to 

bridging the investment gap 

in the country and highlights 

the importance of the 10 

years Capital Market Master 

plan being implemented by 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission which is aimed 

at deepening the capacity of 

the Nigerian capital market. 

“To build a robust capital 

market capable of supporting 

the economy for sustainable 

growth, Company 

secretaries and registrars 

have important roles to play; 

these seemingly inter-related 

functions are vital to improving 

investors’ confidence in 

the Nigerian capital market,” 

cise, they will develop their 

capabilities and independence 

toward becoming full 

participants in creating successful 

future. 

“Through our shared efforts, 

we will nurture and 

empower the trainees and 

staff of the academy to actively 

apply their talents 

and knowledge in the world 

of today and tomorrow,” Ezengwa 

said. 

The coordinator, Jamub 

Global Services Limited, 

Abuja, Sunny Wachir Kelek, 

said 600 youths were being 

trained in partnership with 

Innoson Kiara Academy. 

He noted that the amnesty 

programme had impacted 

positively on many 

lives in the course of the 

training, as they looked forward 

to better days, calling 

for more empowerment opportunity 

for youths. 

Some beneficiaries, 

Sunny Akpignovwu from 

Delta State, Gloria Horsefall 

(Rivers), Sunray Emmanuel 

Oluwadaesi (Ondo), Opuofoni 

Clarkson (Bayelsa), 

urged others to be patient, 

while appealing to Federal 

Government to make the 

scheme “continuous lifechanging 

programme for all 

Niger Delta Youths.” 

Ashade said. 

Samuel Kolawole, president, 

governing council of 

ICSAN, said over the years, 

the institution had consistently 

promoted the ideals 

of corporate governance 

through periodic issuance of 

policy paper and guidance 

material on corporate and 

public administration. 

“Back to 2018, this is a 

very apt theme that underscores 

the overlapping function 

of the corporate secretaries 

and registrars and 

the imperative for synergy 

between these two classes 

of professional and who play 

positive and remarkable role 

in the economic life of the 

nation,” Kolawole said. 

According to chairman of 

the occasion, Asue Ighodalo, 

founding partner, Banwo & 

Ighodalo, an effective and 

well-developed capital market 

catalyses the growth of a 

nation’s economy. 

“It assures efficient capital 

formation and mobilisation, 

and optimal resource allocation. 

A market will only properly 

develop where you have 

well governed participants, 

well-structured instruments, 

reliable and free information 

flow and an appropriately 

regulated environment. 

“I would like to appeal to 

all our economic Regulators 

especially those who regulate 

the capital market, industrial 

sectors and the flow 

of investments, to see themselves 

as market enablers, 

enhancers and developers 

and not as gate keepers,” Ighodalo 

said. 

Nkechi Onyenso, registrar, 

governing council of 

ICSAN, said the forum was 

a programme conceived as 

an avenue to expose participants 

to modern-day practices 

and practical solution 

to problems on company 

secretarial practices and related 

issues.


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NEWS 

Finally, FG confirms 110 

Dapchi schoolgirls missing 

ONYINYE NWACHUKWU, Abuja 

Federal Government 

has finally 

confirmed that 110 

Dapchi schoolgirls 

remain unaccounted 

for, following an attack on 

their school in Yobe State, 

about a week ago. 

Minister of information 

and culture, Lai Mohammed, 

announced the figure after a 

meeting between a Federal 

Government delegation and 

representatives of key stakeholders, 

including the state 

government, the college, the 

parents, security agencies and 

Bursari Local Government, 

where Dapchi is situated, in 

Damaturu on Sunday. 

“The Federal Government 

has confirmed that 110 students 

of the Government Science 

and Technical College in 

Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far 

unaccounted for, after insurgents 

believed to be from a 

faction of Boko Haram invaded 

their school on Monday 

(19 Feb. 2018),” read a statement 

from Mohammed’s office 

Sunday evening. 

The minister said, based 

on the briefings from the principal 

of the college, Adama 

Abdulkarim, and the state 

commissioner for education, 

Mohammed Lamin, 906 students 

- out of whom 110 have 

not been accounted for - were 

in the school on the day of the 

attack. 

Mohammed also announced 

that the Federal 

Government had directed 

the police and civil defence 

authorities in Yobe State to 

immediately deploy their personnel 

to all the schools in the 

state in order to ensure the 

security and safety of the students 

and their staffers. 

The minister, however, 

assured that the Federal 

Government, had stepped 

up efforts to rescue the girls 

and return them safely to 

their parents, saying the security 

agencies are working 

on many leads regarding the 

whereabouts of the girls. 

‘’This is the second time in 

four days that a Federal Government 

delegation would 

visit Yobe State since the unfortunate 

incident. This is a 

measure of the seriousness 

with which we are addressing 

the issue. The security forces 

are leaving no stone unturned 

in their search for the girls. 

‘’We are back here in Yobe 

as part of efforts to provide 

some succour to the parents 

of the girls, to let them know 

that they are not alone and 

also to reassure them that 

we will not rest until we have 

found the girls. We will carry 

the parents along on the efforts 

we are making,” he said. 

For a few years now, Nigeria’s 

North East region has 

come under heavy attack by 

the Boko Haram, an extremist, 

Islamic, terrorist organiza- 

Nigeria’s tax base rises 35% to 17m 

DAVID IBEMERE 

Nigeria’s plan to 

grow its taxpayers 

base has 

recorded a 35 

percent increase in both 

corporate and individual 

to 17 million, up from the 

previous 14 million taxpayers, 

as government 

targets N6.747 trillion 

from tax in 2018. 

The highest new registered 

tax payers came 

from Kano, 921,000 out of 

the 4 million increased recorded 

since 2016. 

Tunde Fowler, executive 

chairman, Federal Inland 

Revenue Services (FIRS), 

who disclosed this while 

speaking with journalist 

weekend, said the government 

had no plans yet to 

extend Voluntary Assets 

and Income Declaration 

Scheme (VAIDS), ending 

March 31, calling on individuals, 

corporate organisations 

to regularise their 

tax status or face the law. 

With a tax to GDP ratio 

of only 6 percent, Fowler 

said, “The country cannot 

develop unless everyone 

sees tax as a compulsory 

duty. 

“I was at the United Nations, 

and experts came 

up with a formula warning 

that if a country tax to GDP 

ratio is below 15 percent 

it is unlikely that they can 

expect economic development 

in that country 

or any infrastructure. In 

2016, Nigeria was about 16 

percent; we are still working 

on the 2017 Nigerian 

figures. 

“If Nigerians want to 

feel the impact of the government 

they must begin 

to see themselves as part 

of the process of development 

and pay their tax. Nigeria 

has no business being 

under 15 percent.” 

According to Fowler, 

VAIDS is not only for the 

wealthy but for every individuals 

and organisations 

that have defaulted in their 

tax payment. 

tion, which President Buhari’s 

government claims to have 

decimated and dislodged. 

The attack on Dapchi 

schoolgirls is coming almost 

four years after about 276 

female students were kidnapped 

from the Government 

Secondary School in 

the Chibok town in Borno 

State. 

Buhari last Wednesday 

directed the ministers of defence, 

Mansur Dan-Ali; information, 

Lai Mohammed; and 

foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, 

to visit Dapchi village 

in Yobe to assess the reported 

abduction of schoolgirls. 

According to the statement, 

the Federal Government 

delegation, which 

comprised the Ministers of 

Information and Culture 

as well as that of Interior, 

Abdulrahman Dambazau, 

held an enlarged meeting 

that was attended by 

Governor Ibrahim Geidam 

of Yobe State; members of 

the state cabinet, the principal 

and vice principal of 

the school, representatives 

of the parents of the missing 

girls and security agencies, 

among others. 

Dambazau, minister 

of interior, also speaking 

after the meeting said the 

delegation embarked on 

the trip in order to get the 

facts right ‘’so that the approach 

to the solution can 

be correct. 

“Every economically active 

individual must have a 

tax clearance. We are consolidating 

a database that 

will ensure everyone gets 

to know their tax payment 

records, and every individual, 

companies must 

remit. Our consultants are 

currently designing a VAT 

forms certificate that will 

display every business; no 

one can be exempted from 

the tax payment system. As 

far there is need to spend 

money, we will evaluate 

them and tax them on 

that,” he said.


FT 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

FINANCIAL TIMES 

A7 

Crunch Brexit talks hint 

at compromise within 

Conservative factions 

EU leaders push Theresa May to provide more 

clarity on Britain’s approach to Brexit 

GEORGE PARKER 

Theresa May’s Brexit inner cabinet 

ended eight hours of talks 

on Thursday night with signs 

that the factions in her top team have 

stitched together a fragile compromise 

on a plan for Britain’s future EU 

relationship. 

But the prime minister’s respite 

over Brexit was brief after it emerged 

that Jeremy Corbyn will shift Labour’s 

position on Brexit on Monday, arguing 

that — if the party were in government 

— it would seek to keep the UK in a 

customs union with the EU. 

If Labour sides with pro-European 

Conservatives, Mrs May could be 

forced by the House of Commons to 

negotiate to stay in the customs union, 

a move that she has rejected and which 

would outrage Tory Eurosceptics. 

The talks at Mrs May’s Chequers 

country retreat ended with Brexiters 

proclaiming that Britain was on 

course to make a clean break with the 

EU. “Divergence has won the day,” 

said one cabinet source. 

But pro-Europeans also insisted 

that the talks had gone well. One 

person in the room said it would be 

wrong to say that divergence had 

“prevailed”, adding: “It was genuinely 

positive and substantial.” 

Another person at the Chequers 

meeting said: “It all finished rather 

positively. It seems like everyone 

thinks they got what they wanted.” 

Asked about the Chequers meeting 

on Friday, Jean-Claude Juncker, 

EU commission president, said he 

would not comment until he knew 

the “exact outcome”of UK ministers’ 

talks. 

“I know that there was a meeting 

Latvia’s embattled central 

bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics 

has claimed that he is the 

victim of a concerted campaign 

by several banks to have him removed 

from his position. 

Mr Rimsevics suggested that 

the bribery accusations against 

him had been manufactured by 

banks unhappy with his moves 

to improve transparency in the 

country’s 2m-strong outsized nonresident 

banking sector. 

“I just vehemently deny [these 

allegations],” the member of the 

European Central Bank’s governing 

council said in an interview 

with the Financial Times. 

“I could only guess that I have 

been a very inconvenient public 

figure for several financial institutions 

in this country, thus making 

them for an extended period of 

time try to gather some evidence 

or [organise] provocations in order 

with Theresa May in Chequers last 

night. I haven’t seen the results so I 

can’t comment on it,” he told reporters 

in Brussels, adding: “I am not a British 

prime minister, it would be good for 

Britain if I was.” 

Mark Rutte, prime minister of the 

Netherlands, also remained tightlipped 

but promised to keep bringing 

“difficult messages” to the UK prime 

minister, saying he would ask Mrs May 

“to be as clear as possible on what she 

wants to achieve on the second phase 

of negotiations”. 

Mrs May will give a public exposition 

on her approach to Brexit in a 

speech next week, although there are 

already signs that Brussels is likely to 

reject outright her vision of a future 

trading relationship. 

The 11-member Brexit cabinet 

committee was said by those at the 

Chequers meeting to have endorsed 

a proposal dubbed “Canada plus 

plus plus” by David Davis, the Brexit 

secretary. 

Under the plan, Britain would seek 

to negotiate a free trade agreement 

similar to the EU-Canada deal, but then 

try to embellish it by securing better 

access to the single market for goods 

and services through close regulatory 

co-operation. 

Brexiters seized on the broad agreement 

at Chequers that Britain should 

be able to set its own rules and regulations, 

allowing an “ambitious managed 

divergence” with the EU over time. 

But Remainers, led by Philip Hammond, 

the chancellor, insisted that the 

starting point should be that Britain 

and the EU would have high levels of 

alignment, with some sectors such as 

automotive and chemicals likely to be 

fully aligned with EU rules. 

Latvian central bank governor accuses 

banks of trying to oust him 

Ilmars Rimsevics tells FT that bribery allegations are ‘totally ridiculous’ 

NEIL BUCKLEY 

Berkshire Hathaway 

gains $29bn on back 

of US tax reforms 

World Business Newspaper 

Page A9 

to remove me.” 

He added: “It is a well-orchestrated 

action in concert among 

several individuals and banks who 

have served non-resident clients 

at various times . . . to whom I have 

become a burden.” 

In events that have rocked the 

Baltic republic, Mr Rimsevics was 

detained by police last weekend 

before being released on bail on 

Monday. 

The country’s corruption prevention 

bureau said he was suspected 

of soliciting and receiving 

a bribe of at least €100,000, from a 

financial institution not currently 

functioning in Latvia. 

Separately, Grigory Guselnikov, 

main shareholder and chairman 

of Norvik Bank, Latvia’s eighthbiggest 

lender, alleged in an interview 

with the Associated Press 

on Monday that Mr Rimsevics had 

personally, or through intermediaries, 

tried to extort bribes from 

Continues on page A8 

Theresa May’s inner Brexit cabinet gathered at Chequers on Thursday to hammer out a strategy for future ties with the EU 

European leaders deny link to Manafort in Mueller investigation 

Former Italian prime minister, Polish president and Austrian chancellor reject allegations 

SHAWN DONNAN, DEMETRI 

SEVASTOPULO, JAMES POLITI 

Three prominent former European 

leaders have denied they 

were paid to lobby on behalf of 

Ukraine by former Trump campaign 

chairman Paul Manafort after US 

prosecutors said he had funneled 

more than €2m to a group of European 

politicians in a secret campaign to 

soften Kiev’s image in the west. Romano 

Prodi, the former Italian prime 

minister and European Commission 

president, Alfred Gusenbauer, the 

former Austrian chancellor, and Aleksander 

Kwasniewski, Poland’s former 

president, all said on Saturday that 

they had been big backers of stronger 

EU-Ukraine ties in 2012 and 2013 

when Mr Manafort’s secret lobbying 

campaign was allegedly underway. 

But all three denied that they had 

received any funds from Mr Manafort, 

who has been accused by US special 

counsel Robert Mueller of stashing 

millions of dollars offshore to avoid 

taxes and finance a secret lobbying 

campaign that targeted both US and 

European policymakers. As part of 

that lobbying campaign, Mr Manafort 

is accused of financing the creation of 

a secret group of senior former European 

leaders known as the “Hapsburg 

Group” that was led by an unnamed 

former European chancellor, according 

to court documents filed on Friday. 

Disclosures filed with the US justice 

department show that Mr Gusenbauer, 

who served as Austria’s chancellor from 

2007 to 2008, Mr Kwasniewski and Mr 

Prodi all took part in meetings with 

members of the US Congress in 2013 

on behalf of the European Centre for 

a Modern Ukraine, a Brussels-based 

group that US prosecutors allege was 

at the centre of Mr Manafort’s secret 

lobbying scheme. 

Those meetings were organised by 

two lobbying groups that were working 

with Mr Manafort and Richard 

Gates, one of his top associates, at 

the time. 

Mr Gates, who served as Mr 

Trump’s deputy campaign chair, 

on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy 

charges related to his and Mr 

Manafort’s work with Ukraine as part 

of a plea deal that increases the pressure 

on Mr Manafort to cooperate with 

the Mueller investigation into Russian 

meddling in the 2016 election. 

In a statement, Mr Prodi said he 

Trump’s protection 

plan to keep ‘competitor’ 

China at bay 

Page A10 

backed a campaign in 2012-13 for the 

EU to sign an “association agreement” 

with the then pro-Russian government 

in Kiev of Viktor Yanukovych. 

“Such a commitment translated 

into numerous meetings and public 

speeches (some of them regularly 

paid), which took place in a variety of 

European capitals. These are serious 

and perfectly consistent initiatives for 

a former president of the European 

Commission,” his office said in the 

statement. 

“President Prodi denies both to 

have played a role in any lobbying 

effort and to be part of a secret lobby. 

Thus, he did not receive any money for 

these activities,” the statement added. 

Mr Gusenbauer told the Austrian 

Press Agency that he had never 

worked for Mr Yanukovych or his Party 

of Regions, which Mr Manafort was 

long associated with. 

His work in 2012 and 2013 included 

meetings and events across Europe 

and in the US and was only intended 

to bring Ukraine closer to Europe, he 

said. He stopped that work in 2013 

when it became clear it was futile. 

In interviews with Austria’s Die 

Presse newspaper and the BBC published 

on Saturday he also said he had 

only met Mr Manafort a few times for 

coffee. 

“I was not aware of the fact Mr 

Manafort was financing this activity 

and of course I was also not connected 

to his activities within the Ukraine,” Mr 

Gusenbauer told the BBC. 

Mr Kwasniewski told Onet, Polands’ 

largest web portal, that he had 

known Mr Manafort since 2012. But 

he said: “No money was in play. I had 

no financial or political agreements 

with him. This is some sort of misunderstanding.” 

“In the years 2012 and 2013 many 

debates and conferences were arranged 

on the topic of Ukraine,” he 

said. “I took part in them, sometimes 

with Prodi, sometimes with 

Gusenbauer. Of course, we received 

fees. Maybe Manafort paid for them 

through his firms? But these were 

public, open debates.” 

Also identified in disclosures filed 

last year with the US justice department 

by two lobbying firms – the Podesta 

Group and Mercury Public Affairs – was 

former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko. 

But Mr Yushchenko could not 

immediately be reached for comment. 

In a statement, Mercury said it 

was cooperating with Mr Mueller’s 

investigation. 

“While [Mr Gates] and others 

involved with this matter may have 

acted criminally and tried to hide it, 

we have acted appropriately, following 

our counsel’s advice from the start,” 

the group said. 

Tony Podesta, the founder of the 

Podesta Group, did not immediately 

respond to a request for comment. 

According to the indictment filed 

on Friday by Mr Mueller’s prosecutors, 

Mr Manafort’s lobbying scheme 

led him to use four offshore accounts 

to wire more than €2m to pay a “super 

VIP” group of former European 

leaders. 

The goal was for the group, managed 

by a “former European chancellor” 

working with Mr Manafort to be 

“politically credible friends who can 

act informally and without any visible 

relationship with the Government of 

Ukraine”, the indictment charges. 

“The plan was for the former politicians, 

informally called the ‘[Hapsburg] 

group’, to appear to be providing 

their independent assessments of 

Government of Ukraine actions, when 

in fact they were paid lobbyists for 

Ukraine,” prosecutors wrote. 

Paying the European politicians to 

lobby is not a crime under US law. But 

the indictment alleges Mr Manafort 

and Mr Gates illegally hid their lobbying 

scheme for years and failed 

to report they were working for the 

Ukrainian government. Mr Manafort 

also faces conspiracy and money 

laundering charges as well as charges 

of lying to investigators. 

Among the things Mr Gates acknowledged 

with his guilty plea on 

Friday was that he and Mr Manafort 

sought to hide their work with Mr 

Yanukovych’s government when they 

were first approached by investigators 

in August 2016 following news stories 

out of Ukraine disclosing payments to 

Mr Manafort. 

But Mr Manafort has insisted all 

along that he has done nothing wrong. 

“I continue to maintain my innocence,” 

Mr Manafort said in a 

statement issued on Friday. “I had 

hoped and expected my business 

colleague would have had the strength 

to continue the battle to prove our 

innocence. For reasons yet to surface 

he chose to do otherwise. This does 

not alter my commitment to defend 

myself against the untrue, piled-up 

charges contained in the indictments 

against me.”


A8 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

FT 

Robert Mueller files new charges against former Trump associates 

Indictment includes accusations Paul Manafort and Richard Gates filed false tax returns 

SHAWN DONNAN AND 

Robert Mueller, US special 

counsel, has filed new fraud 

and tax charges against Donald 

Trump’s former campaign manager 

and an associate, increasing 

pressure on two important figures in 

his investigation into Russia’s meddling 

in the 2016 election. 

In a grand jury indictment unsealed 

on Thursday, Mr Mueller’s 

team accused Paul Manafort and 

Richard Gates of not reporting tens 

of millions of dollars in income 

from their political work in Ukraine 

over more than a decade to US tax 

authorities and of hiding it in a web 

of companies in Cyprus and other 

offshore jurisdictions. 

Prosecutors charge that Mr 

Manafort, with Mr Gates’ help, then 

NATIONAL NEWS 

used properties he bought with 

those funds as collateral to fraudulently 

obtain a series of mortgages 

worth millions, lying about his income 

and debts to overcome questions 

from banks. 

Altogether, the indictment charges, 

some $75m moved through 

the offshore companies involved, 

including $30m in income for Mr 

Manafort alone. The pair, prosecutors 

charge, also fraudulently secured 

more than $20m in bank loans. 

The 32-count indictment accuses 

the pair of filing false tax returns and 

failing to report overseas bank accounts. 

Each is also accused of bank 

fraud related to loans taken out by 

Mr Manafort against properties he 

owned in New York. 

None of the charges relate to either 

man’s work for the Trump campaign 

in 2016. But they stretch from 

2006 to the present and include the 

period during which Mr Manafort 

was leading the campaign with Mr 

Gates’ assistance. 

The charges are the latest allegations 

that the Mueller team has 

levelled against Mr Manafort, who 

has previously pleaded not guilty to 

others that include tax evasion and 

money laundering. 

Latvian central bank... 

Continued from page A7 

him several times. 

Mr Guselnikov has made similar 

allegations against an unnamed 

senior Latvian official in a 

complaint with an arbitration arm 

of the World Bank. 

The claims came days after 

ABLV, the country’s third-biggest 

bank, was accused by the US Treasury 

of “institutionalised money 

laundering”, including handling 

transfers to entities linked to North 

Korea’s nuclear programme. 

Mr Rimsevics said he had no 

idea which banks and how many 

were involved in a campaign 

against him. But he suggested that 

it was a response to initiatives to 

make banks undergo audits by US 

law firms in 2016 and 2017, reduce 

deposits held by those not resident 

in Latvia and “open their books to 

the US regulator”. 

This had “reduced the income 

and profit” and led to the closure 

of some banks’ US dollar clearing 

accounts with US commercial 

banks. 

Latvian banks have been implicated 

in a series of money laundering 

scandals involving funds from 

former Soviet republics. Under 

international pressure, Riga has 

been seen as making more concerted 

efforts to clamp down on 

such activities since 2016. 

Mr Rimsevics said claims that 

he solicited bribes from Mr Guselnikov 

or Norvik Bank were “totally, 

totally ridiculous”, though could 

not exclude that his name had 

been used improperly by third 

parties. He said some meetings 

described by the Norvik owner 

never took place. 

The central bank governor 

confirmed that a 2010 photo published 

this week of him sitting beside 

Dmitry Pilshchikov, then head 

of a Russian military technology 

company later sanctioned by the 

US, was genuine. But he said he 

was seated by chance next to the 

Russian businessman, with whom 

he was not acquainted, during a 

salmon fishing holiday in Siberia. 

“This picture is very well known 

to Latvian internal security officers,” 

Mr Rimsevics added, saying 

that its publication was “another 

attempt by people to defame me 

and screw up my reputation”. 

Addressing a Norvik arbitration 

complaint that accuses Latvian 

authorities of damaging the bank 

through unfair regulatory actions, 

Mr Rimsevics said the complaint 

had no foundation. 

Oliver Bramwell, the Norvik 

chief executive, told the FT this 

week that the bank had informed 

the UK’s Serious Fraud Office last 

August of its concerns; Mr Guselnikov 

has British citizenship. 

But after the SFO did not act 

during a three-month period, 

Norvik’s owner took his complaint 

to Latvian police and arbitration. 

Mr Rimsevics said that clearing 

his name would be “very, very 

difficult”. 

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants reform but is determined to allow only guest workers © AP 

Japan plans to ease visa rules for skilled workers 

Abe addresses labour shortages but stands firm against permanent immigration 

ROBIN HARDING 

Japan plans a review of visa rules 

by the summer as it seeks more 

skilled foreign workers to overcome 

increasingly severe labour 

shortages. 

The government says it will consider 

an expansion of visa categories 

and easing of rules. The main target 

is technology professionals but it will 

also look at sectors with severe labour 

shortages such as care, construction, 

transport and agriculture. 

The review shows how ageing Japan’s 

urgent need for workers is forcing 

it to rethink longstanding taboos. 

However, Shinzo Abe, prime minister, 

is determined to allow only guest 

workers, not permanent immigrants. 

That will limit the potential economic 

impact and raises questions 

about Japan’s desirability as a destination 

for the highly skilled. “My government 

has no intention of adopting 

a so-called immigration policy. We 

are sticking to that point,” Mr Abe said 

as he launched the review. 

Allegations of a massive fraud 

that rocked the UK tech scene 

in 2012 are finally about to 

get a full public airing, as the former 

chief financial officer of UK software 

company Autonomy goes on trial in 

San Francisco on Monday. 

Sushovan Hussain is facing charges 

that he falsified Autonomy’s accounts 

and made bogus statements 

to investors and regulators to inflate 

the company’s performance. The 15 

counts of conspiracy and wire fraud 

carry a potential penalty of 20 years’ 

imprisonment. Mr Hussain denies 

the charges. John Keker, his lawyer, 

has said that the former executive 

acted “with the highest standards of 

“The preconditions are an upper 

limit on the duration of a stay and a 

basic refusal to let family members accompany 

a worker. With that, we want 

to come up with concrete proposals 

for reform by this summer, focusing on 

the sectors with greatest need.” 

The number of foreign workers in 

Japan has surged during the past five 

years as a strong economic recovery 

boosts demand for labour and an 

ageing native workforce reduces 

supply. Japan’s unemployment rate 

is down to 2.8 per cent and the ratio 

of open jobs to applicant is 1.59, the 

highest since the early 1970s. 

There were 682,450 foreign workers 

in Japan in 2012, the year Mr 

Abe was elected to his second stint 

as prime minister, according to the 

justice ministry. By 2017 the number 

had almost doubled to 1,278,670. 

About a fifth of the expansion in 

Japan’s labour force under Mr Abe is 

foreign workers. 

However, more than half of the 

growth in numbers came from loopholes 

in the visa system, notably 

honesty, integrity and competence”, 

and that the case “does not belong in 

a US criminal court”. 

Autonomy was at the centre of a 

barrage of claims and counter-claims 

after Hewlett-Packard, the US tech 

conglomerate, wrote down about 

$5bn of the $11.1bn it paid for Autonomy 

only a year after the acquisition. 

Meg Whitman, HP’s former chief 

executive officer, blamed Autonomy’s 

management for creating false transactions 

to overstate the company’s 

performance. 

Mike Lynch, the UK company’s 

founder and former chief executive, 

has maintained that HP levelled the 

fraud claims to cover up its own later 

mismanagement of the business. Autonomy’s 

remaining operations were 

students working part-time and socalled 

“technical interns”, who are 

theoretically in Japan for training 

but more often doing low-skilled 

factory work. 

Neither category provides a stable 

source of labour for shortage sectors 

such as construction and nursing 

homes. Business groups, under growing 

pressure to raise wages to attract native 

workers, have been lobbying the Abe 

government to offer more work visas. 

“Basically we are looking at revising 

the system for specialist and 

skilled workers,” said Toshimitsu 

Motegi, minister of state for economic 

and fiscal policy. He said that would 

include looking sector-by-sector at 

the minimum necessary skill levels. 

Japan has struggled to attract 

highly skilled foreign workers given 

steep barriers of language and culture 

as well as a difficult path to permanent 

residency or citizenship. Only 

5,494 workers have arrived under a 

points scheme aimed at scientists 

and business executives since it began 

in 2015. 

Autonomy CFO trial to shine light on HP deal 

Criminal case comes ahead of UK civil suit claiming $5.1bn damages 

RICHARD WATERS 

eventually shed last year by Hewlett 

Packard Enterprise, a successor company 

to HP, and are now part of 

MicroFocus, which has taken over as 

the UK’s largest listed tech company. 

The criminal trial is a prelude to 

a civil suit that HP has lodged in the 

UK against Mr Lynch and Mr Hussain 

claiming $5.1bn in damages. Mr Lynch 

has counter-sued, seeking $160m for 

what he claims were lost investment 

opportunities due to reputational 

damage caused by the fraud allegations. 

The US trial, taking place in Federal 

Court, is set to turn on transactions 

Autonomy booked in the US that prosecutors 

claim were designed to make 

up for persistent shortfalls in its sales 

at the end of each quarter. 

US lawmakers push 

for crackdown on 

foreign companies 

Multinationals face being forced to divulge 

sensitive information about contacts 

BARNEY JOPSON AND 

DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO 

US lawmakers are pushing 

legislation that would force 

foreign business leaders to 

divulge sensitive information about 

their contacts with US government 

officials in a crackdown on lobbying 

spurred by concern about Russian 

political meddling. 

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s 

probe into Russian interference has 

injected new life into a bill causing 

concern among non-US multinationals 

because it could class their 

employees as “foreign agents” subject 

to stringent American disclosure requirements 

that could put them at a 

disadvantage to US rivals.. 

The bill would strengthen an 

obscure 1930s law aimed at Nazi 

propagandists that was thrust into 

the spotlight by Mr Mueller’s October 

indictment of Paul Manafort, US 

President Donald Trump’s former 

campaign manager accused of failing 

to register as a foreign agent lobbying 

for a Ukrainian political party. 

Lawyers say the legislation, which 

would modify the 1938 Foreign Agents 

Registration Act, would heap new disclosure 

requirements on the staff of 

any non-US company meeting federal 

officials; on American lobbyists providing 

services to foreign companies; 

and on US businesses lobbying for 

their own foreign affiliates. 

Its effect would be “chilling”, according 

to a Washington-based executive 

at one European company. 

“Your competitors would have extraordinary 

transparency into what 

you are doing in the US.” 

Multinationals with big US operations 

— including the likes of engine 

maker Rolls-Royce and German manufacturers 

Bayer and Siemens — have 

sent staff to Capitol Hill to express 

their concerns about the legislation in 

its current form, according to people 

familiar with the bill. 

Nancy McLernon, president of OFII 

(the Organisation for International 

Investment), a trade group for non-US 

companies lobbying for changes to the 

bill, said it would “lump US employees 

of a Canadian auto-parts company or 

Germany-based grocery chain in with 

agents of foreign governments”. 

The Republican-backed bill, which 

passed a hurried committee vote in 

the House of Representatives in January, 

is sponsored by congressman 

Mike Johnson and the senator Chuck 

Grassley, who have said it would close 

“loopholes exploited by lobbyists of 

foreign entities to conceal their work”. 

While the bill’s progress is making 

business nervous, its chances of being 

put to a full vote are uncertain. One 

person close to House Republican 

leaders said it would not be brought 

up in the near future, while Mitch Mc- 

Connell, the Senate majority leader, 

has not taken a position on the bill.


@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED 2015 

C002D5556 

FINANCIAL TIMES 


BUSINESS DAY 

A9 

Stocks to watch: Blue Buffalo, 

Hewlett-Packard, Phoenix 

Premium pet food maker is snapped up while RBS costs disappoint 

BRYCE ELDER 

Blue Buffalo Pet Products 

rose 17 per cent in US 

pre-market trading after 

General Mills agreed to 

buy the upscale pet food 

maker at an enterprise valuation of 

$8bn. The price tag is equivalent to 

25 times Blue Buffalo’s 2017 ebitda 

and more than 6 times sales. 

Openheimer called the premium 

paid by General Mills “fair”, 

adding: “Although we see strategic 

rationale for other players such as 

Colgate-Palmolive, we do not see 

another bid emerging.” 

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise 

gained around 12 per cent after its 

first-quarter results beat forecasts 

and nudged full-year guidance 

higher, thanks in part to tax cuts. 

The computer maker also set out a 

$7bn cash return to shareholders 

via buybacks and lifted its dividend 

by 50 per cent. 

“Despite the solid first quarter, 

organic top-line growth, expectations 

remain muted while operating 

leverage seems largely driven 

by restructuring,” noted analysts 

at Berenberg, which repeated a 

“hold” rating. “We see increasing 

operational risk from both the latest 

restructuring and the management 

transition, and so believe it is 

too early to be more constructive.” 

In London, hedge fund manager 

Man Group slipped after analysts 

cut estimates to reflect a weak 

performance through February for 

its flagship AHL funds, which will 

reduce performance fees. Merrill 

Lynch lowered its 2018 earnings 

forecast by 21 per cent. 

General Mills is making a foray 

into the fast-growing market 

for natural pet foods after announcing 

it will buy luxury dog food 

maker Blue Buffalo Pet Products in a 

deal worth about $8bn. 

Described around the time of 

its 2015 initial public offering as the 

“Whole Foods of dog food”, Blue Buffalo 

is one of the fastest-growing major 

companies making natural pet treats 

for dogs and cats within the $30bn US 

pet food industry. 

The Minneapolis-based company, 

best known as the maker of Cheerios 

and Lucky Charms cereals and Häagen-Dazs 

ice cream, will acquire Blue 

for $40 a share in cash, representing a 

17.2 per cent premium to the target’s 

closing price on Thursday of $34.12. 

That gives the target an enterprise 

value of about $8bn, taking into account 

the total debt of $471m and 

cash of $283m the company had on 

its balance sheet as of December 31. 

In pre-market trading on the 

Nasdaq on Friday, Blue shares were 

17.4 per cent higher to $40.05 while 

General Mills was down 0.4 per cent at 

$54.75. General Mills’ offer is double 

Blue’s 2015 initial public offering 

price of $20. 

General Mills Chairman and Chief 

Executive Officer, Jeff Harmening said 

Phoenix was in demand after 

announcing the £2.9bn acquisition 

of Standard Life Aberdeen’s 

insurance business, part funded 

by £950m rights issue and £1bn of 

vendor finance from Standard Life. 

The deal will triple Phoenix’s assets 

under administration. 

Analysts at Barclays said Phoenix 

has “acquired a material book 

of business on attractive terms 

that supports the current attractive 

dividend yield of 6.5 per cent. The 

question will be whether the deal 

will allow the stock to be re-rated, 

with the yield moving closer to its 

UK life peers yields of Legal and 

General and Aviva.” 

British Airways owner IAG 

was the FTSE 100’s sharpest faller 

after its full-year earnings came in 

slightly below consensus expectations. 

BT Group jumped after regulator 

Ofcom watered down broadband 

price regulations, with BT’s 

Openreach wholesale division allowed 

to charge operators such as 

TalkTalk higher prices than under a 

September 2017 consultation. 

Separately, Berenberg upgraded 

BT to “buy” from “hold” with a 310p 

target. 

It told clients: “BT has been a 

noisy, complicated story that we 

believe many investors have found 

easiest to ignore and avoid. We 

believe the current share price now 

represents an opportunity. In the 

coming months, we will have more 

clarity on many of the key aspects 

of the investment case (regulation, 

pension, capital expenditure risk), 

after which newsflow should quieten 

considerably.” 

General Mills offers $8bn for luxury pet 

food maker Blue Buffalo 

Fast-growing market for pet pampering 

PETER WELLS 

in a statement on Friday the acquisition 

of Blue represented a “significant 

milestone” as the company reshaped 

its portfolio in an effort to drive growth 

and shareholder returns. 

“In pet food, as in human food, 

consumers are seeking more natural 

and premium products and we have 

tremendous respect for how attentive 

Blue Buffalo has been to the needs 

of their consumers, pet parents and 

pets, as they have built their brand,” 

Mr Harmening said. 

“[W]e expect to help Blue Buffalo 

by leveraging our extensive supply 

chain, R&D and sales & marketing 

resources. We will in turn benefit 

from their experience building one of 

the strongest pull brands in the CPG 

world,” he added. 

Blue on Friday announced a 10.9 

per cent increase in annual sales to 

$1.28bn in the 12 months ended December 

31 and 24.3 per cent jump in 

adjusted net income to $195m. 

Analysts at Susquehanna said the 

deal made sense for General Mills and 

was not unexpected. “We think there 

is potential for counter bids, either 

from companies like [J M Smucker] 

(trying to bulk up their pet food portfolio), 

Nestle (pet food is a priority), 

or from [consumer packaged goods] 

companies not in pet food at present 

trying to diversify into faster growth 

categories,” they wrote in a note on 

Friday morning. 

Berkshire Hathaway gains $29bn on back of US tax reforms 

Earnings rise by 87% even as Warren Buffett’s group steered away from mega-acquisitions 

ERIC PLATT 

Berkshire Hathaway, the sprawling 

conglomerate headed by Warren 

Buffett, on Saturday reported a 

$29bn gain relating to changes to the 

US tax code that were signed into law by 

US president Donald Trump last year. 

The tax reforms helped increase the 

company’s net earnings by roughly 87 

per cent from a year earlier to $44.9bn, 

even as it shied away from the types 

of mega-acquisitions for which it is 

known and its insurance business faced 

a string of catastrophes, including hurricanes 

in the US and Puerto Rico and 

wildfires in California. Berkshire’s net 

worth increased by more than $65bn 

in 2017. 

Mr Buffett wrote in his annual letter 

to shareholders that “2017 was far from 

standard: A large portion of our gain did 

not come from anything we accomplished 

at Berkshire. The $65bn gain is 

nonetheless real — rest assured of that. 

But only $36bn came from Berkshire’s 

operations. The remaining $29bn was 

delivered to us in December when Congress 

rewrote the US tax code.” 

The $29bn bonus stems from the 

billions of unrealised gains Berkshire 

has accumulated over the years on its 

enormous portfolio of stocks and for 

which it had estimated potential taxes 

on. The reduction in the corporate tax 

rate to 21 per cent from 35 per cent cuts 

the group’s tax liabilities. 

While the US tax reform has led 

to a flurry of mergers at the year’s 

start — with multibillion-dollar tie ups 

agreed by Blackstone and Thomson 

Reuters and JAB Holding and Dr Pepper 

Snapple — Berkshire has been 

conspicuously absent. On Saturday, Mr 

Wall Street rebounded and 

Treasury yields slipped 

on Friday as markets eye 

a string of speeches from Federal 

Reserve officials. 

After finishing mixed on Thursday, 

US stocks regained their footing 

with the S&P 500 rising as much 

as 0.7 pe r cent to 2,722.64, while 

the Nasdaq Composite and Dow 

also advanced. 

Attention remains on the bond 

market however amid a string of 

stronger-than-expected inflation 

Buffett assailed the dealmaking spree, 

warning of the use of “extraordinarily 

cheap debt” to finance acquisitions 

and the lack of rational valuations. 

“In our search for new standalone 

businesses, the key qualities we seek 

are durable competitive strengths; 

able and high-grade management; 

good returns on the net tangible assets 

required to operate the business; 

opportunities for internal growth at 

attractive returns; and, finally, a sensible 

purchase price,” he wrote. “That 

last requirement proved a barrier to 

virtually all deals we reviewed in 2017, 

as prices for decent, but far from spectacular, 

businesses hit an all-time high. 

Indeed, price seemed almost irrelevant 

to an army of optimistic purchasers.” 

Mr Buffett, who will host shareholders 

in Omaha in May for the company’s 

annual meeting, added that investment 

bankers “smelling huge fees” and executives 

envisioning higher remuneration 

often cheer such transactions that 

Berkshire avoids. 

Dealmaking is running at its fastest 

pace since the Dotcom boom of 2000, 

with more than $550bn of mergers and 

acquisitions proposed so far this year, 

according to Dealogic. And companies 

and private equity firms have been willing 

to pony up for targets. The average 

price to earnings multiple on deals this 

year is at a record high. 

“The CEO job self-selects for ‘cando’ 

types,” he wrote. “If Wall Street 

analysts or board members urge that 

brand of CEO to consider possible 

acquisitions, it’s a bit like telling your 

ripening teenager to be sure to have a 

normal sex life. Once a CEO hungers 

for a deal, he or she will never lack for 

forecasts that justify the purchase.” 

readings, expectations of stronger 

real economic growth, and debate 

on whether the Federal Reserve 

needs to accelerate the pace of rate 

rises and if it risks falling behind 

the curve on tightening. 

Treasuries were rallying once 

again with the yield on the US 10- 

year down 2.9 basis points to 2.88 

per cent, having nearly hit the 3 per 

cent level earlier this week. 

With little economic data of 

note investors will instead tune 

into remarks from a handful of 

Fed officials. New York Fed president 

Bill Dudley and Cleveland 

Investors and analysts have awaited 

a large deal from Mr Buffett ever since 

Berkshire and Brazilian private equity 

group 3G Capital failed to secure a 

$143bn agreement with Unilever, the 

consumer goods giant, last year. Berkshire 

has amassed more than $114bn of 

so-called float, a pool of capital grown 

out of the insurance premiums it collects 

that the company then uses to 

fund equity purchases and corporate 

takeovers. 

On Saturday, Mr Buffett said that 

Berkshire “will need to make one or 

more huge acquisitions”. In the company’s 

annual report, released on the 

same day, Berkshire reiterated that it 

was after acquisitions between $5bn 

and $20bn in size, although Mr Buffett 

and Charlie Munger, the company’s 

vice-chairman, have said in the past 

that a deal could stretch far beyond 

that. 

While responsibility for takeovers 

still falls to Messrs Buffett and Munger, 

Berkshire has lined up two heir apparents. 

In January Mr Buffett promoted 

two of his top lieutenants to vice-chair 

roles. The ascent of Greg Abel, the 

chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway 

Energy, and Ajit Jain, the Omaha-based 

group’s reinsurance chief, was interpreted 

by investors as an endorsement 

of a future leader of the $500bn group 

that includes Fruit of the Loom, Geico, 

NetJets and Lubrizol. 

Succession questions had long 

swirled at the company, among the 10 

largest publicly traded groups in the 

US, and news on Friday that Mr Buffett 

would retire from the Kraft Heinz 

board confirmed that the billionaire 

investor would continue to reduce his 

non-Berkshire responsibilities. 

Wall Street rebounds as markets await Fed speakers 

Investors shrug off possibly messy election in March 

MAMTA BADKAR 

Fed head Loretta Mester — both 

voting members of the monetary 

policy setting Federal Open Market 

Committee — and Boston Fed 

head Eric Rosengren are slated to 

speak at the 2018 US Monetary 

Policy Forum Annual Conference 

in New York. 

Meanwhile, San Francisco Fed 

president John Williams, also a 

voting member, will speak in Los 

Angeles. 

Elsewhere in markets the dollar 

index, a gauge of the buck against 

a weighted average of six global 

peers, was up 0.2 per cent to 89.87.

A10 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 


Monday 26 February 2018 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY A11 

NEWS 

New report shows how Nigeria can 

Lagos waste: Your position in bad taste, 

plug $300bn infrastructure gap 

… identifies weak regulatory framework as biggest constraint 

ISAAC ANYAOGU 

A 

new report by the 

Africa Finance Corporation 

(AFC), a 

pan-African finance 

institution, and the Boston 

Consulting Group, a global 

consulting firm, says developing 

a solid legal and regulatory 

framework is crucial in 

attracting private capital for 

infrastructure projects in Nigeria 

and other sub-Saharan 

African (SSA) countries. 

The report titled ‘Infrastructure 

financing in sub- 

Saharan Africa, best practices 

from ten years in the field,’ 

draws on the experience and 

best-practice advice of experts 

from both the private 

sector and the public sector 

and found that most African 

countries’ regulatory frameworks 

remain limited and 

piecemeal. 

As a result, SSA has attracted 

only $77 billion in 

PPP projects, compared to 

$124 billion in Turkey alone, 

or $658 billion in South 

America (with Brazil alone 

representing $433bn). In 

SSA, private investment in 

core power and transport infrastructure 

has been limited 

to only $51 billion over the 

last 25 years, the report said. 

“These numbers highlight 

Africa’s enormous potential 

for growth going forward,” 

the report avers. “Infrastruc- 

ture investment in Africa 

has the potential to be highly 

profitable. Returns there, on 

average, are likely to be significantly 

higher than in Europe, 

for example,” the report 

says. 

According to the African 

Development Bank (AfDB), 

Nigeria’s core stock of infrastructure 

is estimated at only 

20-25 percent of GDP, compared 

with 70 percent for 

other middle income countries 

of its size, leaving an 

infrastructure deficit of $300 

billion. Only South Africa has 

completed more public-private 

partnership (PPP) infrastructure 

deals over the past 

25 years than Nigeria has. 

African governments with 

shoestring infrastructure 

budgets need to clarify regulation, 

develop fiscal incentives, 

and facilitate provisions 

that promote dispute settlement 

and licensing. This is 

because increased private 

investor involvement in the 

infrastructure space is the 

best way to achieve intensive 

job creation and incentivise 

funding and skill transfer. 

The report further said 

that while projects have prospect 

of generating higher return 

on investment than similar 

projects in other regions, 

investors walk a minefield 

of government and financial 

markets challenges. 

Complications could 

arise from limited publicsector 

capabilities to develop 

strategic foresight and planning, 

insufficient political 

will, policy uncertainty, weak 

regulatory environments, 

shoddy law enforcement, 

and dearth of technical skills. 

Financial markets in 

many African countries are 

narrow with higher actual 

and provisional risks; longer 

project durations, significant 

cost overruns, and currency 

mismatches make financing 

issues more complex. 

“African governments 

are attempting to address 

these deficiencies. Of the 

49 SSA, 42 now have enacted 

legislation to provide 

a regulatory framework for 

private investment in infrastructure. 

South Africa, 

Rwanda, Botswana, and 

Mauritius offer good examples 

of advanced and robust 

regulatory contexts,” the report 

says. 

Last year, lawmakers 

in Nigeria passed the Federal 

Roads Authority Bill 

which establishes the Federal 

Roads Authority (FRA) 

under the purview of the 

Ministry of Works, to sustain 

the construction, rehabilitation 

and connectivity of 

roads between states in the 

country. The National Road 

Funds Bill (the NRF Bill) was 

also introduced in 2017 to 

assist in financing the development, 

renewal and maintenance 

of national roads. 

VAIDS: FIRS 

targets 

N6.747trn tax 

revenue 

SEYI JOHN SALAU 

As the March 31 amnesty 

for tax evaders’ 

deadline under 

the Voluntary Assets 

and Income Declaration 

Scheme (VAIDS) draws near, 

the Federal Inland Revenue 

Service (FIRS) says it target to 

raise N6.747 trillion tax revenue 

for 2018. 

Babatunde Fowler, executive 

chairman, FIRS, speaking 

at the Institute of Directors 

(IoD) Nigeria, Members’ 

Evening held in Lagos recently, 

said VAIDS provided 

an opportunity to increase 

general tax awareness and 

compliance among the general 

public. 

According to Fowler, FIRS 

tax revenue target for the year 

is based on a N3.776 trillion 

expected from the non-oil 

sector and N2.666 trillion 

from the oil sector, which 

represents 58.62 percent and 

41.38 percent, respectively. 

Fowler opined that, “Taxpayer 

makes financial savings 

that can be deployed to 

other productive activities 

while being tax compliant. 

Government has more resources 

to provide a conducive 

business environment 

(infrastructure and security). 

“The interplay of gains by 

taxpayers and the government 

makes an adequate 

canvas for economic growth 

and development.” 

PSP operators tell aggrieved members 

... insist resolve to work with state, 

Visionscape in best interest of Lagosians 

DAVIID IBEMERE 

Concerned stakeholders 

of Association of 

Waste Managers of 

Nigeria (AWMN) on 

Sunday condemned a statement 

credited to an aggrieved 

group within the association 

faulting the resolve to work 

with the Lagos State government 

and an environmental 

utility group, Visionscape 

Sanitation Solutions to ensure 

cleaner environment. 

The aggrieved group, in 

a statement by its chairman, 

Oladipo Egbeyemi, had distanced 

itself from the agreement 

to work with the state to 

rid it of filth adorning major 

streets and highways, describing 

the resolution as misleading 

and untrue. 

Responding, the concerned 

stakeholders, in a statement 

signed on their behalf by 

Kasumu Afis Olasehinde of 

Gafista Concepts Limited, said 

the statement by the aggrieved 

stakeholders was not only in 

bad taste but had shown them 

to care less about the interest 

of Lagosians. 

The stakeholders, comprising 

of 48 Private Sector 

Participant (PSP) operators in 

waste management, said their 

resolve to work with the state 

to ensure the success of the 

Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) 

was borne out of genuine 

desire to protect the environment 

and prevent outbreak of 

any epidemic. 

According to the statement, 

“This kind gesture was warmly 

received and accepted by the 

government, but to the surprise 

of many, a group believed 

to be aggrieved from AWMN, 

has come out to disown us for 

offering a helping hand, you 

must ask why? Are they angry 

with progress? Are they peopleoriented 

at all? Is this challenge 

a thing of pride and ego to them 

or service to the people? 

“We have been rendering 

unequalled outstanding 

waste management service 

to Lagosians for decades, and 

it is the state of things that 

necessitated our group’s initiative 

to offer help and also 

collaborate with Visionscape. 

The Visionscape group sees 

us as partners who will learn 

a lot from each other and they 

are willing to collaborate with 

us to make Lagos clean. 

“We also state that the 

wellbeing of Lagosians is utmost 

in our mind, and as we 

approach the raining season, 

we cannot just watch but also 

intervene to avoid epidemic, 

which is what the aggrieved 

group does not care about. 

“We can’t afford to let the 

CLI fail, because if it does, 

we will also be considered as 

failure, hence a need to take 

responsibility as a peopleoriented 

group to render service 

whether paid or unpaid; 

laudable to say the least and 

quite commendable and any 

progressive would agree with 

my group,” Olasehinde said.

A12 

Remains of the clinic and 

an ambulance belonging 

to Plateau State College of 

Education, Gindiri, which 

was burnt during students’ 

protest over school identification 

cards, in Gindiri, 

Mangu Local Government 

Area of Plateau State, on 

Friday. 

NAN 

I lived in ‘second hell’ in 

Libya - returnee 

EMMANUEL NDUKUBA 

BUSINESS DAY 

CITYFile 

One of the returnees from Libya, 

Victor Ndukwe, an indigene of 

Awka South local government 

area, in Anambra State, has 

described his experience in 

the foreign country as “living in second hell”. 

He spoke with journalists after being 

received by the officials of Anambra State 

Emergency Management Agency (SEMA). 

According to Ndukwe, he was in prison 

Court sentences 3 herders for open grazing in Benue 

A 

Makurdi Magistrate Court has sentenced 

three herders, Iliya Garba, 

Hassan Abdullahi, and Lanshak 

Lonfalk, to a year imprison each, for 

violating the State Benue Anti-Open Grazing 

Law, 2017. 

The convicts were charged with criminal 

conspiracy and open nomadic livestock 

rearing and grazing. The offences are punishable 

under sections 97 of the Penal Code 

and 19 (2) of the Open Grazing Prohibition 

Ranches Establishment Law of Benue, 2017. 

The prosecutor, Michael Iorundu, told the 

Oyo sinks boreholes in major markets 

Oyo State government through the 

Sustainable Development Goals 

(SDG) office has constructed 15 

motorised boreholes in some 

major markets as part of measures improve 

water supply in the state. 

Abimbola Adekanmbi, the state commissioner 

for finance and budget, speaking at 

the commissioning of one of the boreholes 

at Bodija Market, Ibadan, explained that the 

project was completed through the conditional 

grants scheme. According to him, the 

project is aimed at achieving goals 3 and 6 of 

the SDG programme, targeting good health 

for about four months, with little or no food, 

where he faced severe torture, an experience 

he said has taught him hard lesson about life. 

Ndukwe was among the forth batch of 

Anambra returnees from Libya, received by 

SEMA officials at the Port Harcourt Airport 

through the National Emergency Management 

Agency (NEMA) and other security 

agencies, on Friday. 

The team leader of SEMA, Emmanuel 

Izuchukwu, told newsmen in Awka, the 

Anambra State capital, that the returnees 

…as convicts claim ignorance of anti-open grazing law 

AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan 

court that the joint patrol team of ‘Operation 

Zenda,’ led by Edward Shinyi, arrested the 

herders on February, 18 2018. 

Iorundu said that the accused were 

brought to the State Criminal and Investigation 

Department, Makurdi. 

“The team reported that the three herders 

and others now at large, were openly grazing 

their cattle along Yeluwata Road in Guma local 

government area of Benue. When the case 

came up for mention, the herders pleaded 

guilty to the charge against them, saying that 

they were not aware that open grazing had 

and clean water sanitation. 

Adekanmbi, who is the also the chairman 

of the Conditional Grants Scheme, said that 

the boreholes tagged ‘Ajumose Water Points’ 

have been provided with a standby generator, 

stating that Bola Ige International Gbagi, 

Ibadan, Bembo market, Apata, Ibadan, 

Eleeka market, Oyo, Bodija market, Ibadan 

Saasa market, Ibadan and Towobowo market, 

Igboora, the largest market in Ibarapa 

zone of the state, were some of the beneficiaries 

of the project. 

He said that two of the boreholes were 

located at Sabo market, Ibadan, while Omi 

Adio market, Apata, Ibadan, Obanisunwa 

market, Ayete, Aaraada market, Ogbomoso, 

would be taken to skills acquisition centre, 

at Abagana. 

Another returnee, David Eze from Nnewi 

said he was a businessman dealing in electrical 

parts before he left for Libya. He said that 

he was misinformed about his prospects in 

Libya; as his intention was to crossover to 

Europe through Libya. 

Eze in appreciation thanked the federal 

and state governments for saving their lives 

and called on others nursing the ambition 

of travelling through Libya to have a rethink. 

been prohibited in Benue,’’ he said. 

The magistrate, Lillian Tsumba said that 

the herders were first offenders who were 

also illiterates and not even aware that 

open grazing has been prohibited in Benue. 

Tsumba said that a law such as open grazing 

prohibition required massive exposure and 

education of persons at the grassroots. 

She, however, said “law is law and must 

be obeyed in spite ignorance”. The magistrate 

sentenced the herders to a year imprison 

each, with N500,000 option of fine each. 

(NAN) 

Odo-Oba market, Odo-Oba, Ogo-Oluwa, 

Oja Agbe market, Iseyin, Olorunda market, 

Iganna and Owode market, Igboho have 

one each. 

Toye Arulogun, commissioner for information, 

culture and tourism, said that market 

men and women were integral part of 

government, assuring that the state government 

would provide more social amenities 

for the people. 

He noted that the informal sector was key 

to increased internal revenue of the state. 

Tope Fajana, the special adviser to Governor 

Abiola Ajimobi on SDG, assured that 

the Ajumose Water Points would go round 

all markets in the state. 

Ambode urges civil servants to 

acquire problem-solving skills 

JOSHUA BASSEY 


Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi 

Ambode, has urged 

civil servants in the state to take 

advantage of the numerous training 

programmes being packaged for them, 

to acquire problem-solving skills. 

Ambode spoke at a training session 

for select senior civil servants in the 

state public service, with the theme 

“Coaching as a vehicle for realising 

the potentials of the Lagos State public 

service”. 

According to the governor, who 

was represented by Benson Akintola, 

the commissioner for establishments, 

training and pensions, every officer in 

the state public service aspiring to lead 

must develop, possess and maintain 

problem-solving skills. 

He explained that “developing the 

mind frame for deploying these skills 

is one of the essential soft skills that is 

mandatory for success in the today’s 

rapidly changing world.” 

The governor explained that the various 

training programmes were aimed 

at charting a new path and attaining an 

optimal state of performance and service 

delivery, which would ultimately 

re-energise the economy of Lagos in 

particularly and the country in general. 

“As I have indicated at several other 

for a, once the Lagos State public service 

is able to attain that optimal state of 

effectiveness and productivity through 

aid of coaching, no problem will be too 

complicated, no task too herculean, 

no challenge too huge, and no task 

too complicated for it to confront,” the 

governor said. 

He said these were the reasons why 

the state was constantly equipping its 

officers with skills and tools as the vehicle 

for attaining the goals. 

Thus, we will continue to invest in 

every public officer by designing and 

delivering coaching instructions that 

would increase the knowledge and skills 

of every officer such that multiplier 

effect on the public service would be 

dynamism, responsiveness, effectiveness, 

machine-like precision, and exponential 

productivity,” Ambode said. 

Policeman charged with 

murder of naval officer 

An Ebute Meta Magistrate Court, 

in Lagos, has remanded 36-year 

policeman, Ismaila Aladuge in 

custody for his alleged role in the death 

of Daniel Dukur, a naval officer. 

Aladuge, who appeared on a charge for 

murder, is to remain behind bars pending 

the outcome of legal advice from the 

Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions 

(DPP). 

Chinalu Uwadione, the prosecutor, 

told the court, on Friday, that the offence 

was committed on July 17, 2017 at N0. 

11, Idowu Martins Street, Victoria Island, 

Lagos. 

He said that the accused had accidentally 

shot Dukur, 34, on his abdomen with 

his service riffle while trying to disperse a 

mob, which led to Dukur’s death. 

The offences contravened Section 223 

of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. 

The magistrate, A.S. Okubule, has adjourned 

the case till March 30, pending 

the legal advice.


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C002D5556 


BUSINESS DAY 

Insight 

FDC Bi-Monthly update 

Nigeria Macroeconomic Indicators 

POWER SECTOR 

Power output 

on February 

14th was 

4,138MWh/h, 

increasing by 

36.88% from 3,023MWh/h 

on February 1st. Average 

power output from the national 

grid was 3,918MWh/h 

between February 1st – February 

14th. Increased output 

was largely due to reduced 

gas constraints. 

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I MONDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2018 C002D5556 

fivethings 

for your new week 

Fascinating business facts 

27.8m 

Google Play apps and games store has started accepting 

payments through Kenya’s highly successful mobile 

money service M-Pesa in a market where many 

people do not have a credit card. M-Pesa, which 

enables Kenyans to transfer money and pay bills via 

mobile phone, has 27.8 million users in the nation of 

45 million people where Google’s Android platform 

dominates. Safariom started M-Pesa in 2007, offering 

money transfer services between users. 

MONEY MARKET 

Average opening position 

of the interbank market was 

N111.02bn long between 

February 1st -15th compared 

to N284.08bn long in the 

corresponding period in 

January. The DMO issued a 

sum of N176bn in T/bills in 

the first auction of February 

compared to the first auction 

in January of N161.55bn 

. The stop rates for the 182 

and 364 - day tenors were 

unchanged at 13.65% pa and 

13.7% pa while the 91-day 

tenor declined further to 

11.95% pa from the last auction 

conducted in January. 

In the secondary market, T/ 

bills yields for the 182-day 

tenor remained unchanged 

while it declined for the 91- 

day and 364-day tenors during 

the review period. The 

91-day, 182-day and 364-day 

closed at 12.38%, 14.58% and 

13.55% from 13.12%, 13.42% 

and 13.75% on February 1st 

respectively. 

Average NIBOR (OBB, 

O/N) was 24.17% pa during 

the review period, compared 

to 11.05% pa in the 

corresponding period in 

January. Short term interest 

rates reached a high of over 

50%, due to reduced market 

liquidity before retreating 

to close at 6.80% on February 

15th (average OBB/ 

ON). The total OMO sales 

in the first half of February 

was N249.5bn compared to 

N344.48bn sold in the corresponding 

period in January. 

FOREX MARKET 

Exchange Rate 

The naira appreciated marginally 

by 0.27% at the parallel 

market to close at N363/$ 

between February 1st –February 

15th. The IEFX rate 

appreciated marginally by 

0.12% to N360.13/$ from 

N360.57. Total turnover during 

the review period at the 

IEFX window was $2.01bn 

compared to $2.14bn in 

the corresponding period 

in January. Year to date, a 

total of $8.04bn has been 

sold as at February 15th. The 

IFEM rate traded within a 

tight band of N305.8/$ and 

N305.9/$. 

EXTERNAL RESERVES 

External reserves hit $41.47bn 

as at February 13th, a 3-year 

high. This represents a YTD 

increase of 6.58%. This positive 

trend continues to be 

supported by strong oil and 

Euro- bond proceeds. 

COMMODITIES MARKET - 

EXPORTS 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices closed at $69.65pb 

at the start of the review 

period after hitting a peak of 

$71pb in January. However, 

the rally was shortlived as 

crude prices started trending 

lower to a 1-month low 

of $62.59 in the early days 

of February before recovering 

to close at $64.33pb on 

February 15th. The bearish 

sentiment is supported by 

increasing U.S. Shale production 

and a weak dollar. 

The average price during the 

period was $69.65pb. This is 

48.19% above the 2018 budget’s 

benchmark of $47pb and 

28.98% above 2017’s average 

price of $54pb. 

Oil Production 

Nigeria’s oil production declined 

marginally by 0.55% 

from 1.83mbpd in December 

to 1.82mbpd in January. 

Production remains 

higher than the OPEC cap 

of 1.8mbpd. 

Natural Gas 

Natural gas declined by 

9.66% during the review 

period to close at $2.580/ 

mmbtu on February 15th 

amidst expectations of increased 

production by Saudi 

Arabia. 

Cocoa 

Cocoa prices advanced 5.8% 

to $2,134/mt on February 

15th, from $2,017/mt on 

February 1st. The uptick in 

cocoa prices is due to increased 

seasonal demand. 

IMPORTS 

Wheat 

Wheat prices gained 5.31% 

to close at $4.75/bushel 

despite increasing Russian 

output. 

Corn 

Corn prices declined by 

3.87% to $3.78/bushel from 

$3.62/bushel during the review 

period. This was driven 

by improving U.S weather 

conditions. 

- Financial Derivatives Company 

11.1% 

Namibia will open its second iron ore mine after interest 

shown by an Indian-controlled company called 

Blake Trading, documents seen by Reuters on Friday 

show. The planned mine east of the capital Windhoek 

could have a potential lifespan of 40 years in a market 

where mining is an important as an contributor added 

11.1 percent to the country’s GDP during 2016, the Namibian 

Statistics Agency says. 

$14bn 

Nairobi shrugged off a ratings downgrade and loss 

of access to an IMF standby credit facility to raise a $2 

billion bond with yield starved investors accumulating 

bids in excess of $14bn for the offer. 

The bond offer added impetus to recent concerns over 

the rate at which Kenya is accumulating debt. 

The Eurobond, the second in a span of four years, will 

cost taxpayers a total of $3.2 billion in interest payments 

during its lifetime of up to 30 years, according to early 

calculations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 

said Kenya needs a credible plan to tackle its fiscal deficit, 

which is the main driver of borrowing. 

377 

Although politically troubled, Ethiopia is pressing 

ahead with its aggressive privatisation policy with data 

showing that since its establishment two decades ago, 

Kenya has privatised a total of 377 public companies 

with 96% of the payment fully settled. Out of the total 

companies, 87% were transferred to local buyers. The 

government plans privatise all state-owned enterprises 

step by step as a strategy, says Wondarfash Assefa a 

spokesman for the government. 

90,000bd 

Libya’s oil exports from the Mellitah terminal will slow 

down after protests disrupted production at the key 

El-Feel deposit for the first time in two months, putting 

the OPEC nation’s crude production at risk of a decline 

again and sending oil prices higher. The field has 

production capacity of 90,000 barrels a day but it’s not 

clear what output was before the outage. 

Published by BusinessDAY Media Ltd., The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos. Ghana Office: Business Day Ghana Ltd; ABC Junction, near Guinness Ghana Limited, Achimota – Accra, Ghana. 

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Editor: Anthony Osae-Brown. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.

BusinessDay 26 Feb 2018

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